A different path
by Hybrid Wayward Dragon
Summary: What if Damon and Enzo had both escaped from the Augustines that night? How would it change Damon's actions at the end of season 3? Would he stay like he did on the show or would he leave? And what would follow?
1. Chapter 1

**So I had this idea yesterday and one thing led to another and here we are. This is an AU of what if Damon did leave after season 3? Since I hate what the show started doing with him after season 4, I just felt like it wasn't Damon any more. What I love about him is that he's this delightfully complex character who is willing to anything and everything for the ones he loves. So when the whole thing with Enzo came up, I was like, there is no way he would leave him behind. Season 5 just annoyed me a lot so yeah. In my AU, both escape and separate after a while to do their own thing but meet up every now and then and hang and just get drunk and party. I wanna continue this but it's my first Vampire Diaries fic so I left it at a place where it felt right and I'll continue it if I get reviews. Fair warning, this turned out to be a Denzo fic.**

* * *

Throughout his life, Damon had known only one constant. Pain. Whatever happiness had come his way was fleeting and to assume things may ever be different would make him little more than a fool.

So he accepted his fate, learned to live with the pain, the loneliness and decided to simply take each day as it came. To smile even when his heart was breaking, joke and throw a little sarcasm into every situation, to hide it all and never let anyone in. Because why grow attached to something if it will only ever fade away? Why let someone in, when the second they get in close enough, all they do is leave or die and leave nothing behind but a hole in his life where they belonged? One of the only ties he could never bring himself to break was his brother. Stefan was his only family, all he really had left. He would be _damned_ before he hurt his brother irreversibly, be it physically or emotionally. Lexi had to go because all she did was push him away from his brother and get him on the bunny diet. He never learnt control because it was always one of two extremes for him, ripper or rabbit food, quite literally and all Lexi did was further his addiction seeing as he wasn't able to cope with the high of human blood when he did have it.

Coming back home to Mystic Falls, for the first time in years, decades really, he broke his rule. Instead of remaining aloof and distant as he planned, he became attached. He befriended people, helped willingly whenever he was needed. Oh he killed, was menacing and manipulative. Played the villain to perfection when he had to. But his flaw was that he cared too much. He always had. The links in the chains controlling his emotions slowly rusted and broke the longer he remained. If there was one thing he prided himself upon, it was control. The fact that _he_ , unlike Stefan, controlled his bloodlust, never giving in for a _second_ , refusing to allow anything to have power over him. The irony was in the fact that even as they called him heartless for his actions, called him a monster, it was the monster who hurt the most, who would smile through the tears and fight tooth and nail to keep the walls of steel surrounding his heart strong and protected at all costs. The monster, who was called upon to protect _them_.

He supposed he wasn't much more than a fool then. He allowed himself, for once, to care. Allowed himself to become a part of their family. He stripped down his walls, little by little. Let them carve their own little places in his heart, feeling stronger with the knowledge that, at times, he would have someone in his corner fighting for _him_ for once, but feeling all the more vulnerable because when you let someone in, they are in a unique position where they can do irreparable damage.

Perhaps the best thing to happen to him in this town was Alaric. Ric had somehow become his best friend, his drinking buddy and his confidante. He trusted the man implicitly, in a manner he had only ever trusted one other over fifty years ago. But in doing so, he allowed himself to relax. To become complacent and let his guard down. He had been practically asking to have his fragile heart ripped to shreds once more. And then it was.

He almost felt sorry for the Mikaelsons. With parents like theirs, it was no wonder that they were so messed up. Esther was obsessive in her need to kill her children and would complete her task by any means necessary. Which, of course, included turning Alaric into a vampire who's sole purpose was to kill what remained of the Mikaelson family. Guess who won the award for 'Mother of the year?' _Not_ her!

He had been slowly dying on the inside as he watched his best friend look at him with pure hatred, as if all they had been through meant absolutely nothing at all. Nothing remained of the man he knew in those eyes and his cracked and frayed heart shattered a little more at the loss of his best friend.

When Ric buried the white oak stake into a helpless Klaus' heart, something in him mourned as Rebekah did, for the unnecessary loss of someone who made things _fun_. Who indirectly gave him a purpose. It was the part of him that was still human even after all this time, that admitted that he could identify with Klaus even just a little bit because both were forced into becoming monsters, thrust into lives they had never asked for. It was that which led to him holding back Rebekah, pushing her as far away from Ric as he could because despite all that she and her family had done, no one deserved to have their brother murdered in front of them. He had experienced that pain, nearly a hundred and fifty years ago and wished it upon no one.

Even as Ric rushed after her, somehow, he knew the Original barbie would make it out alive. He, on the hand... well, he wasn't sure what he was more afraid of. Dying alone, slowly and painfully because his sire was dead, or at the hands of his best friend.

His conversation with Elena went exactly how he expected it to. Why on earth would she choose the monster, the villain of their little fairy tale? No, those like him didn't get happy endings. They didn't _deserve_ happy endings. But he still had one other phone call to make, someone else whom he couldn't die without saying goodbye to. He dialled one of the few numbers that had been engraved onto his heart because no matter how they were different, there were some whom he could never let go of no matter what happened. Because there were some who never let go, never pull away even when there's no reason to stay.

A ridiculously british accent answered the phone and he smiled without meaning to. It had been so _long_ since he had spoken to his other best friend. So long since he had seen his face and he missed him. He missed him _so much_ because they had both been each other's salvation. Had represented hope where none existed and that was something neither of them could ever let go of.

"Enzo?" His voice cracked ever so slightly on the name, something which was picked up immediately by the vampire in question.

"One and only, love. What's the matter and who do I have to kill? If it's that damn doppelganger who turned you in the first place, you know I'll do so with pleasure." Damon could hear the smirk in his voice and _dammit_ it hurt so much knowing he'd never get to see it in person again.

"As awesome as that would be, this is about something else. Look, there's a ninety-five percent chance I'm going to die tonight and I just, I couldn't not tell you. I couldn't do that to you. I had to- I don't know, say good bye, do _something_! I just, I couldn't go without saying goodbye." His voice cracked and he ran a hand through his hair, trying desperately to find some kind of balance, some way to steady himself because _it wasn't supposed to be like this._ After a moment's silence where he could practically hear the gears turning in Enzo's mind as he tried to process this information, he was completely unsurprised to hear the profanities bursting from his friend's lips.

"God-fucking-dammit Damon! What the- you can't drop this on me like that! Where are you? I'm coming to you. I have to come to you. This isn't- _damn it_! Where are you Damon? Just, _where are you_?" Through the rage, shock and utter disbelief, Enzo was reduced to only just being able to ask him where he was so he could come to him, desperately pleading, with everything in him. Damon knew that tears were pouring down the other vampire's face, they were slowly dripping down his own. They should have had _more time._ Why didn't they have more time?

"No where you can reach in time. I just- I needed to say goodbye. The chances of me surviving are little to none. I just needed- if I make it out alive I'll come find you. You know where."

"I'm giving you a week Salvatore. You damn well better be there." Damon swallowed harshly, trying to find his voice.

"I'll be there. Bring on the darkness?"

"And keep the blood flowing." Enzo said in reply, voice rough as he spoke before he shut the phone. Damon sensed the footsteps before he heard them and watched Ric speed into the room. Death via best friend it was.

* * *

Going back to Mystic Falls with the body of his best friend in the back seat, Damon was honestly quite certain there was nothing left in his heart to break. The tears that refused to stop dripping from his eyes contrasted greatly with the hardened expression that adorned his face. Everything inside him was a raging storm of grief and rage and an unending torrent of self hate. Maybe if he hadn't killed Ric so many time they wouldn't be in this position. Maybe if he had figured out sooner that Ric hadn't been having those herbs Bonnie gave him... burning questions of why he was so cursed that everyone around him paid the price scorched trails through his ravaged mind as he raged at the universe and otherworldly powers that demanded so much from him.

When he understood what Meredith Fell had done, what her actions had led to, even as he rejoiced, something inside him broke and shattered. Elena lived but Ric still died. His friend _died_ in his arms and it was most likely while hating him. His thoughts whirled around to form an incoherent mess until all he wanted to do was destroy everything around him. To find an outlet for the emotions that raged inside that wasn't blood and sex. At least, not blood that he had any intention of drinking.

* * *

Pacing in his room, a glass of bourbon clenched tightly in his hand, he allowed the rage to fill him, to slowly build up until all he knew was red and his hands moved of their own accord, destroying everything in his room with a reckless abandon. In his rage he didn't care if he got hurt, if splinters pushed themselves through his fragile skin. For once, he embraced the physical pain, far preferring it to the emotional one.

Through the haze of red that clouded his mind he barely heard Stefan enter the room, only realising it when his brother pushed him up against the wall trying to snap him out of it. The words he was saying barely penetrated the cloud of pure anger that engulfed him but he understood their purpose which was to calm him. At that the rage built up again and within the blink of an eye it was Stefan who was being slammed against a wall.

"Don't you understand? He's _gone_." He snarled at his brother, trying to make him understand the magnitude of what he had lost that night. "He's gone and he's _never coming back_ and once again, this town and its people have taken away anything I cared for. _Don't you get it?_ Elena, as always, chose _you_ and I lost one of the only friends I have in this God forsaken town. I have _nothing_ left here. I never did." The realisation washed over him and he stepped back from where he had been holding his brother in place. "I have nothing left here." He repeated, his voice soft with understanding. He straightened suddenly, a new clarity in his eyes has he looked over at his confused younger brother upon whom comprehension was slowly dawning of what Damon was saying.

"Damon? You know that's not true. I know we may not have always seen eye to eye, but you're still my brother-" he was cut off by Damon.

"Save it Stef. This way you get what you want, that was the deal remember? The one who Elena doesn't choose, leaves. Isn't that what you wanted ever since I came back? Besides, you can have Elena. She's only ever going to choose you anyway. I'll leave after Ric's funeral. He deserves that much." He didn't let Stefan get a word in, speaking in rapid sentences even Caroline would be impressed with since it beat 'teenage fangirl' and rushed off into the night.

* * *

He stepped outside the boarding house, duffle bag in hand, two days later, his resolve stronger than ever. There wasn't any reason to stay and besides, he had made a promise to be somewhere within a week. He threw the bag in the trunk, trying to ignore Elena as she came tearing up the driveway, having recently adjusted to vampire speed.

"How can you just leave? After everything?" She burst out.

"Very easily. All I have to do is get in my car and drive." Damon smirked. "It _really_ isn't all that hard to be honest. Anyway, I'm going to be late, so see you all in fifty years?"

Elena spluttered, shocked that he could be so callous and act so indifferent about everything. "No! You can't leave! Not now after I remember!" It was annoying to see her act as if those memories meant that much to her considering she couldn't even admit to remembering the time he told her he loved her.

Damon sighed, "look, it doesn't matter what you remember or what you don't. You chose Stefan, yes it sucks, I'm moving on. I'm no one's first choice, at least no one who's alive and in this town. Don't tell me you need help adjusting because you have Stefan, Caroline and Tyler to help you along with Bonnie. Its more than any of us got. You don't need me."

"How can you say that? It changes _everything_! And Tyler's dead! He was definitely part of Klaus' sire line."

"It's Klaus. Chances are, he's not dead. The body didn't burn up. The Original Hybrid will turn up sooner or later. Hopefully sooner for his sister's sake." He mumbled the last part to himself but Elena caught it with her newly enhanced hearing.

"Rebekah? Since when do you care about her? She's tried to _kill_ me!" Her voice was full of disgust and something akin to hate that he was just too tired to put a name to.

"Since she saw her brother die! The loss of family isn't something to be happy about no matter what they've done. And I can't stay in Mystic Falls anymore, not even for you." He got into his car, ignoring the young vampire's protests as he did so, switched on the radio and just drove, feeling truly free for the first time in a long while. He had five days to reach a particular bar in New York and he was _not_ going to be late.

* * *

 **Well, that's all for now. If you read this far, do let me know what you thought and if you want me to continue because I'd really like to continue but I'll only do so if I know people will read it.**


	2. Paint the town red

**Ok wow so people actually like this awesome! 4 reviews in a day? Sweet! Btw, the fastest way to get me to update is through reviews because they motivate me like nothing else does. So I'm pretty nervous about this chapter and I really hope you guys like it. There is some Denzo action but bear in mind that I can not write romance if my life depended on it. So I'm gonna need you to let me how it is. Also, what I was aiming for is that they're occasionally together, no strings attached because honestly? There is no way that Damon and Enzo are entirely straight. But yeah, point is, pairing can change at any point without any problem. But imma need feedback cos this is the first time I'm writing a fic like this.**

* * *

Loud music assaulted Enzo's eardrums as he entered the bar he had Damon had frequented so many years ago. He paused for a second before entering, barely stopping the memories of their time here from overwhelming him. He and Damon, for a long time, had been _everything_ to each other. During those long years of captivity, they were each other's sanity, each other's hope. Some days it was just the knowledge that he wasn't alone any more that had kept him going and he knew it had been the same for Damon. They knew everything about each other, each intimate part that they had never allowed anyone else to know. They alone had been privy to each other's hopes, dreams and fears.

They had also engaged in more _pleasurable_ pursuits, being, on occasion, fuck buddies as it were, because one doesn't go through an experience like that without forming a bond deeper than simply friendship and honestly, why not? They were vampires, sticking to one thing became tedious after a while and neither of them cared much for labels. After all, it kept things interesting.

He seated himself at the bar, ordering a glass of bourbon as he waited, as he prayed with everything inside him, for Damon to show up if only so that he could lay into him for putting him through this.

"Damon, I will gladly hunt you down and painfully remove your spine from your body if you don't get here. And if you're dead I'll bring you back so I can kill you myself." He mumbled threateningly into his glass, half an hour later. They never specified a time because they had never needed to before. Now Enzo was wishing they had. He still wanted to strangle the older vampire for that phone call and as the minutes ticked by the urge to punch him in the face only grew stronger.

"Well, that's no way to talk about a friend." He could _feel_ the smirk that adorned Damon's face even before he saw it and couldn't prevent his lips from curling up in a grin of his own as he set his glass down on the counter.

"Considering the circumstances, I would think I'm quite justified in talking about said friend in whichever way I please. Wouldn't you agree?" He gave it a moment then grabbed Damon and sped outside, slamming him up against the wall of an alleyway, pure rage coursing through his veins. "How dare you? Don't you remember? The only time either of us is allowed to die is _together_!" He couldn't bring himself to look into those silver blue eyes just yet, knowing he would break if he did so.

He did punch Damon, quite a few times in fact, catching him in the ribs as the dark haired vampire simply stood there taking all the blows. They didn't really hurt anyway. Finally looking up into those sorrow filled sapphire eyes, Enzo broke, wrapping his arms around Damon, soft sobs wrenching themselves from his throat. It was now that Damon finally reacted, wrapping up the younger vampire in his own arms.

"I'm sorry. I'm _so fucking sorry_." Cracked words fell from Damon's lips, a repeated mantra that slowly calmed the other. Enzo's sobs died down but he still gripped Damon tightly, afraid he would simply fade away and disappear into nothingness.

Pulling away from Damon slightly, as if in a daze, Enzo began running his hands over the other's torso, needing to reassure himself that he was real, that he was still there in front of him and wasn't going anywhere. Damon understood that he needed this reassurance and let him have it. The younger's wandering hands went higher, gripping his neck and gently pulled his head forward, their foreheads touching. "You are _never_ doing this to me again Salvatore." He whispered before kissing him. Damon moaned, entangling his hands in Enzo's hair, gripping it tight and pulling him closer. Both of them needed this, it seemed and their souls rejoiced at being reunited once more.

It had been a while since either of them had been together and both basked in the pure love provided by the other. With them there were no strings, no demands, entirely untainted. They were each other's first choices, always. Yes, they could be described as monsters, but it didn't matter what they were because if they were sure about one thing, it was where they stood with each other.

Finally breaking away from the kiss, it was Damon who laid his forehead against Enzo's this time. "Never again." He agreed. He leaned back against the wall then, lips curving upwards in a dark grin. "It's been a while since I was in the Big Apple. I think its time we paint the walls of this city red once more."

His grin was mirrored on Enzo's face as the younger spoke, "for old time's sake?"

Damon slightly inclined his head. "For old time's sake." He echoed as black veins rippled under his skin. Oh, tonight was going to be _fun_.

The darkness inside them was let loose upon an unsuspecting city and they revelled in the freedom gained from releasing the beast within. The two fed like they hadn't done in years, their hunger insatiable. When they could feed no more they fell into each other, bloodstained hands tangling in shirts and hair as they kissed, reassuring each other that they were exactly where they were supposed to be. Mystic Falls and the problems of its inhabitants never once crossed Damon's mind. They lost themselves in each other, knowing nothing but the blood and the body next to them for the rest of the night.

* * *

"So you never did tell me why what happened did." Enzo started a few mornings later, avoiding the use of the words 'thought you were dying' as if his life depended upon it. His sanity certainly did. Damon sighed as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, leaning against the bedrest.

"Where to start? How about, _dopplegangers are a pain the ass_ , always have been and always will be?" He sounded irritated, he knew, but all this had begun because of one doppleganger and ended because of another but in the meantime, all they caused was pain whether or not their intention was such. As he felt Enzo tracing slight circles on his bare thigh, he thanked his lucky stars, the few that existed, that both he and Enzo were such tactile people because touch could soothe him in ways words never could. Even the simplest touch made everything seem so much more _real_ , more reachable and Enzo understood that. Words meant little to nothing to him because people lied. They lied and manipulated and wielded words as nothing less than weapons that were meant to cut deep, hard and fast and create wounds that festered, that broke and shattered you.

"Do you mind if I just showed you?" He asked Enzo, unwilling to talk just yet of the battlefield that was hidden inside the small town where everything had begun. Enzo nodded his permission easily, allowing Damon past his mental barriers, their trust in each other absolute.

* * *

It was as if he was an outsider, looking at events of his own life as if watching a movie. Except this time he had Enzo with him, grasping his hand tightly to ensure he knew he wasn't alone in this, commenting whenever an opportunity arose.

"So, you killed her? Ugh why didn't you kill her? Ok, that child has anger management issues, please tell me he has been relieved of a heart. Dammit, do you kill _anyone_ \- oh, there we go. Yeah, I never really liked her any way. Wait, did that bitch just _slap_ you?" Enzo looked concerned now, widely turning to Damon. "Why isn't she dead? I'm serious, this bitch is annoying me. I understand she's a Doppler but for _God's sake_ Damon! Since when did you become so bloody soft? That needs to be dealt with. Make a note will you?" Damon laughed as Enzo kept speaking, actual pleasure filling him up in a way it hadn't for a long time. By the time the younger vampire began listing all the ways in which Matt Donovan was useless, he was in fits of laughter, pure happiness distracting him from the pain of reliving memories which only cemented his stature as second best to everyone in Mystic Falls.

After a momentary silence Enzo spoke again. "You know, you never did teach me all that Old Magic you were talking about."

"I haven't? Huh. Guess we can get to that now. All the time in the world right?"

Enzo laughed, "oh if you think I'm letting you go anytime soon after this, you have another thought coming mate. Now, please tell me why you didn't inform me that the originals were in town and that they were so much fun? Oh wait, never mind. That right there is a shit storm waiting to happen, hell it's practically _begging_ to happen."

"You don't even know the half of it." Damon grumbled.

* * *

He couldn't watch Ric die again. Not for a third time.* He couldn't watch as the light faded from his friend's eyes, couldn't force himself to. Tears streamed down the face of his memory self and Damon turned away as the memory began calling out Ric's name, begging him to come back. Profanities spilled softly from Enzo's lips as he understood the extent of Damon's loss, perhaps the only one who understood what Alaric was to the older vampire.

As he pulled out of Enzo's mind, he stared at his hands, surprised to find them trembling. He clenched them into fists, trying desperately for some semblance of control as he leaned his head back against the bed and shut his eyes to keep the tears from falling. He missed Alaric, already feeling his loss so deeply. He missed him and it hurt that he died the way he did. He felt Enzo's hand upon his own, slowly entangling them, the touch soothing his troubled mind and the words began falling from his lips in an uncontrollable torrent.

"Ric was a good man. One of the only few left and he was my friend. He didn't- he didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve _any_ of it. And I can't help but think, maybe if I hadn't killed him so many times, maybe if I hadn't taken that damn ring of his for granted- he might still be alive and we'd deal with Elena's problems like we always do because she is incapable of doing so herself and then we'd go to the bar and drain its supply of bourbon like its our job." He ran his free hand through his hair, barely holding the memories of his time with the hunter at bay. "I never should've gone back." He whispered miserably.

"You're probably right." Enzo agreed, "but hey, at least you raised some hell in that town." He pushed the older vampire down and lay on top of him. "Now, we're going to spend the next fifty years honouring your friend and plotting world domination and revenge. Understood?" He kissed him hard, clearly putting the message across as non debatable. As Damon flipped them over he gave a slight nod, non verbally thanking Enzo for understanding exactly what he needed. Fisting his hands in the younger's hair, he grinned as he pressed their lips together.

"World domination? Sounds like fun. When do we start?"

* * *

 **So what did you think? Love it? Hate it? I should never attempt anything like it again? Let me know!**

 ***Three times, the first being in the tomb when he should have died before Bonnie gave him her blood, second being the finale and third being watching it again in the memory.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Something I feel you should know about me: I have zero impulse control and exams beginning next week. I update chapters as soon as I write them and feel like I've found a good place to stop. This is probably going to follow the general pattern of season 4 with quite a few changes. Again, nothing motivates me more than reviews so the more reviews I get the faster I write. Hopefully you guys are gonna like this chapter too. I was a little iffy on the end.**

 **So this picks up from around after the whole hunters thing, Elena already killed the annoying guy with the awesome tattoo only Jeremy could see. I don't care much for the whole sire bond thing so yeah. Also Rebekah doesn't hate Damon since he pretty much prevented her death at the hands of Evil!Alaric.**

* * *

Enzo looked slightly concerned as Damon ignored his phone's buzzing yet again. The dark haired vampire had been teaching him how to tap into the Old Magic but it was proving to be harder than either of them had thought. They had, however, managed to figure out how to project their thoughts to each other but they were unsure how much of it was a result of how well they knew each other and how much wasn't. The incessant buzzing of Damon's phone was also a rather unwelcome distraction.

"Just answer the damn thing will you?" He finally snapped after its ringing broke his concentration for the tenth time.

Damon looked at the screen and shook his head. "Nope. No can do. If I answer then they're just going to take it as a means to drag me back. It's about time they learnt to solve their own problems for once."

While Enzo could respect that, this had been happening for over a week. Damon had left Mystic Falls a little over a month ago and his phone had pretty much become Grand Central Station. He received texts almost every day along with the occasional phone call which he ignored with a resolve that impressed Enzo. They had, however, increased exponentially over the past week and Damon still refused to answer, even if it was to tell them to stop calling.

So when the phone rang for the twenty sixth time that day he snatched it from Damon's hands and answered it, ignoring the other's protests. "You have reached the phone of Damon Salvatore. He doesn't want to talk to you right now and is refusing to change his number. May I take a message? He probably won't care but I'm sure we'll have a good laugh." He was at his most sarcastic, snark oozing from his very pores as he spoke, annoyance clearly evident to Damon even through the upbeat chirpy voice Enzo employed while speaking.

Enzo could hear someone (Elena) spluttering on the other end of the line, clearly unused to being spoken to in such a manner. "Nothing? You sure? Your call, quite literally. Try again in six months, I'm sure he might be willing to care by then. No wait, actually he probably still won't."

A female's voice came on the line, one he identified as Barbie Mikaelson's, sorry, Rebekah's. "I am about to rip out some hearts here, probably not as many as my brother is though. Do you mind giving the phone to the only intelligent person these morons had in their ragtag team of misfits and then had the misfortune of losing? Because I _really_ like these shoes and would prefer _not_ to get Elena's blood on them just yet. The stains are usually impossible to get out."

Enzo sighed and put it on speaker, not bothering to elaborate as he knew Damon had heard every word. "A little Ajax and lime generally works for me but you're right, Gucci is a bitch to get stains out of." Damon began as Rebekah gave a slight sigh of relief. "I'd say it's a pleasure but we both know I'd be lying. Don't tell me the latest crisis and what can I NOT do to help?"

"Klaus is about to kill your brother any day now for Stefan's sheer idiocy and his own inability to work with anyone but you for some reason, while the lot of them are on some fool's errand looking for a non existant cure. Please tell me you can smack some sense into them? They are, if its even possible, even more annoying than before. And I just got Stefan to admit he'd prefer to have you back while under compulsion so I know he isn't lying. And honestly, as awful as your plans generally are, they get results."

"Sure, I'll just check my schedule. How about the seventh of never to the fifteenth of ain't gonna happen? I'm not coming back unless the apocalypse is happening and maybe not even then. Smack some sense into them yourself. I know you're certainly capable of it. And how many times do I have to say this, unless Elena comes up with it, there's no such thing as a bad plan. Just poorly executed awesome ones."

A new voice spoke, one immediately identified as Kol. "Or maybe you could get your arse up here before they raise the apocalypse and I won't track you down with a baseball bat? Sound good? After all, wouldn't want to destroy that pretty face of yours just yet, would we?"

"All things considered, some blood and he'd be fine, so unless you pump him full of vervain and claw his face off yourself, you're not going to get too far. And even then, you'd probably need a lot to put him down." Enzo spoke up, grinning when Damon punched him. "Well its true mate. If we're going to throw around threats, might as well make sure they at least sound effective. Anyway, what'll it take to stop you lot from bugging us?"

"Two weeks. That's all we need." Rebekah's answer was instantaneous, cutting off anything Kol may have had to say. "Two weeks and a truce with Klaus."

Damon snorted. "What on earth did you do to piss him off this time? You know what? I don't even wanna know. Your problem, you can deal with it. Your two weeks includes the three days it'll take for us to get there. After that, I'm out."

"Deal."

Enzo smirked as he shut the phone. "They really can't do anything without you, can they? So. Road trip?"

"Road trip." Damon agreed with a sigh.

* * *

Rolling into town to find the Grill destroyed and just about everything going to the dogs, Damon was NOT pleased. He didn't bother stopping by Elena's house, driving straight home. He was done with her indecisiveness and the fact that all throughout his time knowing her, one of the single most difficult things for her to do was making up her mind. He turned to Enzo as they reached the boarding house. "Time to introduce you to the family. Try not to snap necks within the first five minutes, being able to block out their particular brand of stupid and annoying comes with time and exposure."

"I make no promises darling. You know how I get around those who irk me." Enzo replied, lips curving upwards in a wide grin. Damon smirked as he saw his friend's expression.

"Better than most unfortunately. But I know that it's the best I'm going to get. Somehow, I really don't care either way. Should any judgemental teenage girl attempt to slap you, however, you have full permission to do whatever you want to them. With the exception of Bonnie, they're all baby vamps anyway." Damon had a habit of being not only possessive, but protective of what was his. Enzo was definitely his and he'd happily prove it by ripping out the heart of anyone who hurt the younger male no matter who it was.

"And it's always the baby vamps who think they're invincible right?"

"Well, someone has to teach them their place in the food chain and its always been a 'learn on the job' process."

"I feel almost sorry for anyone about to cross you today." Enzo slightly tilted his head, thinking for a second. "No, wait, I really don't. I'm just going to enjoy the show."

* * *

Damon hesitated a little before stepping through the doorway of his house. He had been happy for the month he had been away, lighter somehow and now he had to come back to this world. Where he was second best, unwanted and unneeded except when they wanted something only he could do. Sensing his hesitation, Enzo entangled their hands together, pressing a soft kiss to his lips as he reminded him that this time he wasn't alone. He smiled gratefully at the other before leading him inside, somehow feeling less vulnerable with Enzo at his side.

They entered the Salvatore house to find Klaus and Stefan in a screaming match, the original about two seconds away from staking Stefan.

"And so the drama begins." Damon murmured to Enzo before racing to come in between Stefan and the makeshift stake that Klaus was about to stick in his younger brother. Having the wooden leg of a chair rammed straight through his torso was not making his day any better or less painful. "Hello Brother, Klaus." He acknowledged the both of them through harsh breaths, still pulling off a smirk through the pain as he took in Klaus' shocked and regretful expression and heard a sharp inhale and a whispered 'Damon?' behind him. "The one and only little bro. By any chance could we hold off antagonizing the big bad original vampire until afternoon at the very least? Staked before breakfast wasn't exactly on my list of things to do."

"You weren't my intended target Damon, nor did I wish to kill your brother." Klaus finally began, slight regret evident in his eyes as he attempted to brace Damon who looked as if he was going to fall at any given moment, skin paler than normal.

"Yeah I know." was all Damon managed to get out before his knees buckled. Enzo rushed to catch him before he hit the floor and quickly and efficiently removed the chair leg from in between his ribs.

"I thought the point was not to get too involved you dolt! You always end up getting hurt." The younger vampire was irritated at Damon's incessant need to hurt himself for the sake of others who rarely, if ever, deserved it and he had no problem showing his annoyance.

"Hey, I told you this place was a war zone." Damon said before standing up, bracing himself against Enzo. He clapped his hands together, the loud noise drawing the two other vampires out of their shocked states. "Klaus, Stefan, this is Lorenzo."

"My friends call me Enzo. So that means... neither of you so far." Enzo, the little shit that he was, smirked as Damon facepalmed.

"Enzo, what did I just tell Stef about pissing off thousand year old vampires? Not before breakfast." He turned towards the other two vampires then, "you have three minutes to tell me why you were destroying my house again and then, Stefan, you will clean up this mess while I decide whether or not to help you or just tell Rebekah that you all need to start solving your own damn problems."

"You know, I never really thought about it before, but you're basically pack mom to this lot, aren't you? I mean, you can cook, you clean, give orders and always have all the answers." Enzo said, laughing while ignoring the glare Damon sent his way.

The dark haired vampire in question just looked expectantly at his brother and Klaus. "Ignore Enzo while he laughs at my expense. I just want to know why my house was being destroyed this time. And there damn well better be a good reason. Unlike Stefan I actually take good care of the place and I don't like seeing my hard work go to waste."

"Klaus wants to use Jeremy in one of his plans." Stefan blurted looking for all the world like a petulant child.

"Baby Gilbert? What could you _possibly_ want from _him_?"

"He has a mystical tattoo that grows the more vampires he kills and will eventually form a map that leads to the cure for vampirism." Klaus elaborated to a rather unimpressed Damon.

"So? Fan-fucking-tastic! I don't care if there's a leprechaun and a pot of gold at the end of this hypothetical rainbow. Why the hell did I have to come back?"

"Because your younger brother cannot even complete the simplest of tasks put to him."

"You're asking Jeremy to kill innocents, do you really think he's going to be ok with that?" Stefan interrupted.

" _Ladies_ , you're both pretty. I don't know about Damon, but I still don't see why we were needed here." Enzo began leading Damon to sigh.

"Because he gets results. Left on their own, the rest of them are rather useless with the exception of Stefan in his ripper phase. They need a motivator. He has proven to be a rather useful one in the past, I'm sure it shall be no different now. I need the younger member of the Gilbert family to kill vampires, something I'm sure he should be all too happy to do. It's really not that difficult."

Damon rolled his eyes and set his head down tiredly on Enzo's shoulder. "I'm going to need a drink before I deal with this." Raising his head he pointed at his brother. "Get to cleaning. Now. And if you got into my bourbon, I _will_ stake you."

* * *

Luckily for Stefan, he _hadn't_ gotten into Damon's supply of bourbon and so his chances of surviving the day increased greatly. Bourbon was sacred to Damon. It was also Ric's favorite drink. Messing with Damon's supply was asking for a slow and painful death. However, they had other matters to focus their attention on besides Damon's love affair with the beverage.

"I must ask, the white oak stake. You were the last to see it," Klaus began and Damon smirked in typical Damon fashion.

"And you want to know where the only weapon that can kill you is." He finished for the hybrid. "Yeah, I'm going to have to hold on to that for a bit before someone gets one of their 'genius' ideas and decides to have Jeremy use it on one of your siblings. I would rather _not_ deal with that particular shit storm thanks."

"You seem to have this rather well thought out. Unfortunately, -"

"You trust no one but yourself? Yeah sorry, no. I'm keeping the thing for now till Enzo and I can figure out how to destroy it. Deal with it or don't. It's not like you'll be able to find it if I'm dead anyway. Besides, I am so beyond caring by this point about your trust issues. See, this is why you have no friends. Start being nicer for once."

They were interrupted by the squealing sound of car tires and a female's voice calling Stefan's name. Damon smiled tiredly. "And it looks like the cavalry's arrived. Excuse me while I deal with this."


	4. Chapter 4

**So I am currently emotionally dead inside because I watched the recent episode of the originals today so I will probably revel in your pain as you read the end of this chapter. I do want reviews though because I wanna know what you guys think cos this is the first time I'm writing a fic like this so I'm relatively more nervous for this than I've been for anything else I've written. Again, feedback motivates me and occasionally prevents me from ending a chapter on a depressing note. That said, I do hope you enjoy this chapter and if you wanna rant about 3.19 of the originals I will happily rant alongside you.**

 **Oh and the end of this chapter may lead to some of you being mad at me for the things I say but I just wanna say that after watching the show, those were the impressions I got and what I felt/understood from certain character's actions.**

Elena came barging into the house as if she owned the place. Well, that wasn't too surprising considering she had been doing it ever since Stefan showed her the place. Honestly, _rude_? She seemed genuinely surprised to see Stefan cleaning the place which confirmed Damon's suspicions. Besides him, no one could or would clean worth a damn.

"I'm sorry Steffy, did I tell you that you could stop cleaning? No? Then get back to work." Damon dismissed his brother with a wave of his hand, clearly expecting him to continue cleaning the place. He then turned to Elena who had been staring at him ever since he entered the room and smirked. "I know I'm gorgeous but I'm starting to feel a little objectified as of right now and besides, I'm taken. Is there something I can help you with? If not, get out of my house. If so, get out anyway."

" _Damon_!" Huh. She actually sounded surprised that he would speak to her like that. "Where have you been! How could you just leave like that? And why would you talk to Rebekah and not me- any of the rest of us?" Damon groaned as the rapid fire questions were levied his way but grinned widely as she paused, fully understanding all that he had said. "Wait, what do you mean, taken? It's only been a month! How could you?"

"Very easily in fact. Besides, why do you care? You choose _Stefan_ remember? Chose him over me and left me to die alone, possibly at the hands of one of my only best friends. I don't just live for you Elena. I'm not a slave to your every whim. Newsflash! Normally, people don't like being used and then thrown away like yesterday's trash."

"That's not true! I don't do that!" The brunette was indignant, lips forming a childish pout as she glared at him before softening her voice. "I care because you're my friend and I still want you in my life. So who is she? Please tell me it's not Katherine."

Enzo's voice joined them, British accent even more pronounced in his annoyance. "Now, I would take offense at that. I'm definitely prettier than Katherine Pierce any day and I don't even come with all the problems that are part of the Petrova package deal. Lorenzo, my friends call me Enzo." He made his way over to Damon, lips curved upward in his trademark smirk as he shamelessly kissed the older vampire. "Sorry I'm late to the party. Big bad hybrid wanted to talk."

"Speaking of, where is the original pain in my ass? I would have thought he'd be out here throwing in his two cents by now." Damon said ignoring his brother and Elena's shocked expressions.

"Getting into your blood supply. Said he would rather skip the drama. I didn't put up too much of a fuss all things considered. Didn't really see the need." Enzo shrugged, unconcerned. Damon didn't particularly care either way so long as Enzo wasn't one of Klaus' targets. He did still have the white oak stake after all so really, if anyone held the best cards this time round, it was him.

Elena and Stefan were both still staring at the two other vampires, mouths agape in surprise. "Since when do you-" Elena began, hardly able to form the words in her surprise.

"Bat for other team?" Damon finished for her. "Since I decided Petrova dopplegangers just weren't worth the trouble they caused. Besides, if I'm not careful I might just become as whipped as that sparkly fairy princess Cullen from the book of vanilla and gay vamps starving themselves on the bunny diet."

"So wait, you're gay now because of me?" Elena was filled with self righteous indignation and confusion at the implication.

"No need to be such a homophobe about it love, but, yes." Enzo spoke up, amused at the teenager's opinion of herself and her reaction to Damon's announcement.

Damon just shrugged, uncaring of their reaction to his sexuality. "I got tired of being used and then told that no matter what I do, its not going to be enough. Enzo and I go way back. Wasn't that hard of a decision to make if I'm being honest, which I usually am surprisingly enough."

"You can't possibly be all that close. I've never even heard of him before today." Stefan sounded disbelieving. After all, Damon was his brother. There wasn't anything he didn't know about him.

It was now Enzo's turn to stare at Damon in disbelief. "He still doesn't know? Did he even _realise_ that something was wrong- that you dropped off the map for over four years for a bloody reason?"

Damon shook his head tiredly in response. "He never asked, I never told him. Can we leave it at that?" His voice held a note of desperation. ' _Leave the past where it is_ ' he projected to Enzo but the younger vampire was too angry to listen this time.

"I bloody well won't! How in God's name can he claim to be your brother if he doesn't even care enough to know this about you!" He burst out.

"Told me what Damon? What's he talking about?" Stefan asked at the same time, becoming more and more insistent.

"Oh, just the fact that your brother was kidnapped and tortured for years at the hands of psychopaths who called themselves scientists." Enzo spat, anger etched into every nuance of his face. "Its actually quite sad. He was convinced you'd know something was wrong and come to find him. Kept telling me, as we rotted in those miserable cells, pumped so full of vervain that every movement was a struggle-"

" _Enzo_. That's _enough_. Stefan-" Damon stopped short at the expression on his little brother's face. "It happened a long time ago. I'm over it." His voice was soft as he tried to reassure his brother. Enzo, however, had no such qualms and frankly speaking, he didn't believe that Stefan deserved to be let off the hook so easily.

"Yes, about as over torture as you can get. So those nightmares the both of us still experience, normal right? Those nights where one of us wakes up screaming because we're convinced that one of those scientists has opened us up again to see how we regrow our organs, show how completely and utterly we have moved on. Don't pretend it's something it's not Damon. _I'm not going to let you hide away the pain_ , not this time. It's time he learnt that for all he calls you brother, when it comes down to it, he doesn't have your back. Not really."

Stefan was stunned into silence, unable to speak as he attempted to process all that Enzo had said. Elena, whom, let's be honest, they had all forgotten was still present, suddenly spoke up in defense of her boyfriend. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Stefan always has Damon's back no matter what Damon does!" She bit out, so utterly convinced of the truth of her words.

Enzo laughed bitterly. "You know what Damon would tell me as we lay there, half delirious with pain? Barely able to speak and the one thing he could manage to say?" He ignored Damon as the older vampire said his name, ignoring the clear warning evident in the single word. ' _He should know how he failed you_ ' he projected to Damon. "He would tell me that his little brother would know that something was wrong. That you would come and find him even if it was just so you could yell at him for his life choices because that's what brothers did. And when we finally got out of that hellhole, he found out that you couldn't have cared less that he had disappeared for over four years. The Augustines couldn't break him, couldn't quench his will to keep fighting, but the fact that his brother didn't care enough to even be _worried_ about him?" Enzo shook his head, his disgust at Stefan all too clear on his face.

"Enzo, enough. _Please_." There was a note of pure desperation in Damon's voice, one that Enzo could no longer ignore.

"I've said all I needed to anyway. Maybe this way they'll stop underestimating your worth." He couldn't stay inside anymore, regret filling him for betraying Damon like that but needing to tell Stefan how he let Damon down.

He ran a hand over his face as he stood outside in the driveway, trying to get his anger under control. He above all knew how devoted Damon was to those that mattered to him, he just couldn't believe that the one who claimed to know Damon better than anyone else refused to acknowledge such an integral part of him. He was interrupted from his thoughts by a certain blond hybrid who had joined him without his realising it.

"That's how you know Damon? You were an _Augustine_?" The original asked, something indefinable in his voice. Enzo snorted.

"We were _the_ Augustines. I was there so long I lost track of the years after a while. Damon was brought in about four years before we managed to escape. When we did, well, I think even you'd be impressed by the massacre that followed."

"I certainly was considering that I heard about it while on the other side of the country. Entire families were part of your bloodbath were they not?"

"We were angry when we finally managed to escape. Damon even more so than I was. Revenge wasn't just at the top of our list, it _was_ our list. Especially after Damon realised his brother wasn't in a position to give two shits whether he lived or died. But then again, with him it was always too little humanity or too much." Enzo's slight laugh was dry, entirely void of humor. "We painted the walls with the blood of those scientists and their families and we never felt an ounce of remorse and I can assure you, we _reveled_ in their horror and fear."

A shiver of pure attraction ran up Klaus' spine at Enzo's words, the darkness inside him recognising and acknowledging with great pleasure the monstrous nature of the other. Revenge was something he understood and appreciated better than most. And the massacre that had gone down at the hands of the Augustine vampires had truly been legendary. He could respect that.

* * *

Stefan stared at Damon in horror as Enzo left. His older brother couldn't meet his eyes, regret written all over his face.

"Enzo shouldn't have told you what he did." The elder vampire said quietly. It was terrifying, seeing his older brother like that and for the first time, Stefan realised that he may not know his last remaining family as well as he had thought. After one hundred and sixty two years of knowing him, did he really _know_ Damon? Or did he just know the parts Damon showed to the rest of the world? Stefan simply didn't know anymore and the thought terrified him.

"Is it true?" He asked the dark haired Salvatore. When Damon remained silent something akin to horror and anger built up inside him. "Damon, _is it true?_ Please, _please_ tell me that he's lying. Tell me that I didn't condemn you to torture by not caring enough to look for you, for being _happy_ that you were out of my life for a while." Stefan's voice was harsh, filled with disgust at himself and still Damon was unable to speak. Unable to as much as look his brother in the eye.

Elena, however, had to speak up, having somehow silently watched the events unfolding before her. She, naturally, picked the easier and safer side. "Damon tell him its not true. Can't you see this is tearing him apart?" She stepped forward, putting her hand on his arm and applying slight pressure, in an attempt to snap him out of his silence. It didn't exactly work the way she expected it to.

"Enzo didn't lie. Surprising as it may be to you, he doesn't lie." Damon snapped, the words finally pouring out after being kept buried for years. "Lexi wanted me away from you, _you_ wanted me away from you. Guess someone was listening and you got your wish. Somehow, I thought that the fact that we were family meant a little more than that to you. Like Enzo said, I was convinced, for some stupid reason, that you might actually care enough to come looking for me." He swallowed harshly, hands clenching into fists at his side. "I was wrong."

Stefan sucked in a deep breath, hearing those words from his brother. Now, as he thought about it, he realised that whenever something went wrong, Damon had his back. He _never_ gave up on him. But whenever his brother needed him, whenever Damon had trusted him, he had let his brother down. Turned his back on him whenever Damon had tried to make things right. Lexi had been one his best friends, yes, but more often than not, her reasons for spending time with him were to force him out of his ripper phase and make sure he didn't relapse again. She kept him away from his brother on numerous occasions, convincing him that Damon was a bad influence. He had never learnt control, not the way his brother had. It was always one of two extremes and he inevitably would lose his way and fall back on his ripper ways, letting the bloodlust consume him.

"Damon... I didn't- I would've- I didn't even know that something was wrong, I had _no idea_ that- that-" Stefan could hardly form the words as they tumbled from his lips haphazardly.

Damon sighed, the tension flowing away from his body, leaving behind pure exhaustion as he rubbed a hand tiredly over his eyes. "That's the point Stefan. You _didn't_ have any idea. You didn't realise that I wasn't where I was supposed to be for a reason. When we got out, I didn't see any reason why I should have told you if you couldn't even see for yourself that something was wrong. That you would send fucking _Lexi_ of all people to try and fix my humanity instead of coming yourself. I didn't need a vampire who didn't know me, who refused to let me anywhere near my own _brother_. I didn't _need_ someone who couldn't even tell the difference between when I had turned my humanity off or not. I needed my brother. You didn't come and I screwed Lexi over. Shit happens. Get over it, I know I did."

"Then why have my back. Why stay with me still?"

The elder vampire rolled his eyes. "Because we're family, moron. That's my job. Making sure no one hurts my pain in the ass idiotic little brother but me." Damon's answer was simple, instinctive, without a single thought put into it, as if that one little word of family outweighed all they had done to each other over the years. As if it was more important than Katherine who tore them apart the first time. As if it rendered everything that had a hand in driving them apart insignificant. Maybe it did, Stefan finally realised. Damon had just seen and held onto that fact a whole lot earlier. He looked up at his brother, a new light of understanding in his eyes, but the elder Salvatore was already turning away, walls of steel encasing his battered heart.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm really sorry about the delay but olevels tend to suck away the lives of students like me. On the plus side, I saw Civil War yesterday! Best movie ever! Still pro Iron Man though!**

* * *

"So let me get this clear." Damon sighed as he ran a hand over his face, glaring at all the excited faces around him. Honestly, if he had his way, none of them would be allowed to make plans anymore. "You want to ram this so called cure down Klaus' throat as revenge for all that he's made you suffer and then you wanna take it yourself? You want my opinion? _You're all insane_. Rebekah, honey, you and your family have your own issues and I get that, I do. Hell, Stefan and I are the perfect example of dysfunctional but seriously? You lot are gonna get each other killed for good."

Rebekah's lips formed a pout that the original somehow managed to pull off. She was sick and tired of her brother's tyranny and honestly expected Damon to jump at this chance to rid them all of the threat posed by Klaus. They all did. She hardly wanted her brother _dead_ , just... less powerful. "What the hell do you mean we'll get ourselves killed? Besides, it's my choice what I decide to do with my life and what revenge I exact upon Klaus. Your help would be nice considering how it's generally you coming up with the plans and technically your only actual friend in this town is the newbie vamp no one knows. I hardly _need_ a vampire such as yourself but allies are always appreciated. If I'm allying myself to this group of misfits, I expect something in return. It's give and take here darling."

Damon's eyes hardened and Enzo stiffened behind the older vampire, silent profanities pushing themselves from the brunette's lips although he was careful not to actually say anything out loud. When Damon spoke, his voice was hard, nearly emotionless, his walls of steel already up. "Funny then, how I could have _not_ stopped Elena from her ridiculous plan of having Jeremy kill one of you and complete the mark in one go." He ignored Rebekah's outraged shriek and Elena's shocked gasp that he would tell Rebekah that and continued speaking. "Yep, you totally don't need me to keep the white oak stake safe and away from anyone who would use it to kill your family. And I'm sure that someone else can train Jeremy properly so he can actually complete his damn mark without dying. Some days I wonder why I even bother anymore. Like you said, it's not like I have much in the way of friends in this damn town. Barely even a handful of people I care about left in this place anyway." He laughed a dry, bitter, humorless laugh.

"So all of you," he gestured to the imortal teenagers and witch before him, glass of bourbon in hand as he took a large sip, "can go to hell if that's what you want your fucking cure for because I'm _not_ having any part of your revenge plans and with the way things are going without me, I'd _love_ to see you turn Jeremy into Buffy the vampire slayer and actually be anywhere near successful. So curing Klaus? Taking away part of his basic essence like what mommy dearest did, Rebekah? It's something you'd regret after it happened and you know why? Because no matter how much they screw up, you _don't_ do that to family. You _don't_ take away part of what they are, because I'm telling you from experience, there is no forgiveness for that. Never." There was a fire in his eyes as he spoke, one that the others had rarely, if ever, seen before. Anger was coursing through his veins, rage at how they all simply assumed he would go along unquestioningly with all their ridiculous plans if they asked. At how they expected him to agree to taking away part of Klaus' basic essence so easily.

Bonnie stepped forward now, unwilling to look beyond any viewpoint but her own need to have vampires out of her town by any means necessary and her magic back. "You're leaving anyway, why should you care what happens to the rest of us and what we do?"

Damon just smirked at her words, lips upturned in a manner that was entirely far too predatory for the other's liking, voice taking on the sarcastic quality that they were all well acquainted with, that only Enzo and now Stefan could recognize as his primary defense mechanism besides violence. "Oh, ouch Bonnie, that hurts, right here." The elder Salvatore patted his chest, right above his heart mockingly. "Oh sorry, I forgot. Big bad vampire, not allowed to have a heart. My mistake. Maybe you'd prefer if I turned off what little remains of the humanity I have left? I mean, according to Elena, that was my problem, right? _I care too much_?" Stefan turned to face the brunette in question, his face incredulous as he hissed, "you did _what_?"

Enzo simply stepped forward, putting a hand on Damon's arm. To anyone else, it would appear as if he may have been restraining the older vampire but to the two of them it was a motion meant to ground the other. To remind them that they were not alone no matter what.

It was Enzo who spoke this time, voice dripping with exasperation. "For some ridiculous reason that completely escapes me, the idiot still cares about you lot and I'm pretty sure it had a lot to do with your friend Alaric. Frankly speaking, from what I've seen, you lot are rather useless and have the worst plans I've ever heard of. So I'm going to take Damon here for a snack before he explodes on all of you and we'll come back when you're ready to talk sense. Understand? Fantastic." The younger vampire attempted to maneuver himself and Damon out of the room but a pissed off Rebekah intercepted him and he shuddered as she plunged her hand into his chest, short pained breaths falling from his lips as she wrapped her fingers around his heart and tugged ever so slightly.

"I am not just any vampire that you can talk down to, I am an Original!" In the blink of an eye, Damon was behind Rebekah, white oak stake slipping out of his sleeve and pressing into her back, right behind her heart, anger smouldering in his eyes.

"Let him go." It was an order.

Rebekah continued talking even as Damon pressed the stake harder into her back. "I proposed a mutual alliance for something that will benefit us all! Damon, you of all people should want my brother to suffer after the pain his actions have caused you."

"Yeah well, call it a conflict of many interests. We're not sticking the cure down Klaus' throat. Deal with it princess. Now, _let him go._ " His voice was hard as steel, a commander's voice and one that promised violence should Enzo be hurt.

The blonde original's lips quirked upwards in a cruel mockery of a smile. "Fine." She said as she jerked her hand out of the younger vampire's chest, looking at the bloodstained appendage with little more than slight annoyance at the mess. Enzo gasped with the pain and his knees buckled, Damon catching him before he hit the floor.

"Everyone leave." The elder Salvatore told them without looking away from Enzo or letting go of the younger vampire.

"Excuse me?" Elena spluttered as Rebekah calmly wiped away the blood covering her hand with a tissue.

"I said, _leave_. All of you get the fuck out of my house before I stake you myself and believe me, I will do so happily." Rebekah scoffed and Damon's already aroused temper flared. A burst of pure energy erupted from him, pushing all but his brother back, flinging them into walls and through windows. A feral grin found its way onto Damon's lips, one that Stefan hadn't seen in a while. "Did I forget to mention? I've tapped into the Old Magic again. Sometimes, I allow it to get away from me." He picked up Enzo bridal style, ignoring the younger vampire's protests and looked over to his brother. "Get them out of our home will you? I don't want to see their faces again today." Stefan simply nodded and watched as his older brother carried his lover up the stairs to his room, not looking back.

On the other side, invisible and annoyed, Alaric shook his head, sighing. The utter and complete idiocy the inhabitants of Mystic Falls displayed on a daily basis never ceased to surprise him.

* * *

Damon gently placed Enzo on his bed, the latter protesting all the way. "I'm not some fragile little human remember?"

"Better than anyone else." He cupped Enzo's face with one hand pulling him up for a gentle kiss. "I'm not going to let anyone, original vampire or anything else, hurt what's mine. Not again." The pure steel still hadn't quite left his voice and Enzo could tell how affected he still was by Rebekah's actions.

He could tell how underneath the hard exterior, Damon was terrified. Terrified of losing him because of this town that had taken away so much from him already.

That was why he would allow him to fuss. Because both of them were so utterly terrified of losing the other after all that they had been through together that they would do anything, kill anyone to ensure the continued survival of the other. That was just the way they worked.

* * *

Enzo was honestly stunned by the way things worked in Mystic Falls. Not only was it centred solely on the teenagers and their endless problems, but they depended, ironically, on the ones they called monsters for solutions.

In the past five days alone, Caroline had gone to either distract or get something from Klaus at least four times. Elena continuously approached Damon for some reason or the other, ever present excuses for her actions falling from her lips.

"Honestly, mate. I've never seen people more dependent on those they claim to hate in my life. And I've seen a lot." He told Damon over bourbon one night at the newly rebuilt Grill. If there was one thing that could be said for the inhabitants of Mystic Falls, it was that they were certainly resilient. He wasn't entirely certain that was a good thing.

"They _do_ have co-dependency problems don't they?" A smooth british accent floated their way as they were joined by a certain blond Hybrid. Damon scoffed, raising his glass in a mock toast, the amber liquid inside sloshing at the movement.

"Understatement of the decade. Care to join us? You're one of the only two originals I can stand right now."

"Yes, your little spat with Rebekah, I heard. I am still wondering how Enzo here is alive considering my sister, well, once she sinks her nails into something, she generally isn't very keen on letting go."

"What can I say? I'm a likable vampire." Enzo said, a grin on his face. Klaus sighed.

"I like this shirt. It's one of my favourites, in fact. I'm sure you can understand how much I _don't_ want your blood on it." He said pleasantly, his voice a little darker by the end but still conversational.

"Let's just say that I persuaded her with a little help from a particular white oak stake." Damon said. Klaus stared at him for a moment, incredulous in the face of Damon's audacity and nonchalance before shrugging.

"Aside from the fact that I may have had to hunt you down to avenge Rebekah, she should have known better than to hurt a vampire's mate in from of him and not expect repercussions." The blond said casually.

Damon turned to face Klaus, features twisted in disbelief. "You _know_? Not even Stefan figured it out and he's my _brother_."

Klaus scoffed, almost insulted to be compared to the younger Salvatore. "I could smell the bond a mile away. But I digress. Learning that the doppelganger planned the murder of my little brother, I am, as one would imagine, rather out of sorts and craving her blood. It's not that I don't trust you, I just never like seeing the lives of my family in any one else's hands but my own."

"Yeah and that's why I'm keeping the stake. One, leverage in case you or someone else gets any dumb ideas and two, to make sure that none of you see a family member killed again. Rebekah seeing you killed by Ric was bad enough, I'd rather it _not_ happen again. It's a horrible waste of a perfectly good monster and Elena and Stefan can be notoriously bloodthirsty when they have revenge on the mind."

Klaus blinked at Damon's words, utterly taken aback by the complete lack of deceit in them, by the fact that someone other than family could care so much and for no obvious reason. He felt an overwhelming desire in that moment to kiss Damon senseless but controlled himself. There was only so much he could allow himself to open up to. For a vampire to find his or her mate was exceedingly rare. To find two was almost unheard of and Klaus preferred to keep his vulnerabilities hidden.


	6. Chapter 6

**God, I have zero impulse control. So apparently reviews on other completed fics also motivate me. I've been writing a lot of one shots for the Originals and got quite a bit of feedback on a recent one which somehow led to me writing over 2000 words for this in two days and about 900 for another Originals thing which became a two shot. Yay me! Btw, is anyone else dying over the recent episodes of the Originals? I know I am! Anyway, so I kinda wanted to pay tribute to that amazing speech in season 4 which Damon gave at Alaric's grave so I took the main speech and changed it to fit the events of my fic. Please don't kill me! I'm also changing up a few things so people who died in the show don't here. Hope that's ok! Read, review and enjoy!**

* * *

Enzo was calling it. Training was _boring_! All Damon did was teach Jeremy how to defend himself. There was absolutely no killing whatsoever! Not that he endorsed the killing of his own kind of course, but the faster they finished, the faster they would get out of this bloody town.

As Damon sent Jeremy and Matt on another five laps around the lake, he sighed and poked the older vampire who had sat down and begun sharpening stakes while waiting for the teenagers.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you'd gone soft. Why aren't we just turning a few random people and getting this over and done with?" He might have let a bit of his irritation show through his voice as he picked up one of the stakes and rolled it between his fingers absentmindedly.

"Somehow, I find myself thinking the same thing." A smooth british voice joined them. "You know, if you adjusted your angle just the slightest bit, the point would be sharper on those stakes." Klaus critiqued as he looked over at Damon's workmanship. The vampire in question rolled his eyes.

"I'm working on it." He replied to both questions. "But I made a promise and so the kid needs to _not_ die before or after he completes his damn mark. One and one makes two, see?" He said, sarcastic as ever, holding up a stake with a definitely sharper point. "I know what I'm doing."

"I sincerely hope so." Klaus' voice held a menacing note to it. "Because I'm giving you two more days before I take matters into my own hands. Believe me you will not like the results."

Damon stood up to face Klaus, anger written into every bit of his face, voice low and dangerous. "Look, I don't care if you rip this damn town apart and drench it in blood. I don't give a _damn_ if you make more hybrids after they turn Elena into a human again. I honestly don't give two shits if you use her or any other inhabitant of this godforsaken town as your personal little blood machine for the rest of her fucking life. You will not touch a hair on that boy's head or put him in danger until _I_ give the go ahead. I made a promise to keep him safe and I will not see it broken. Not this time."

"You seek to control me? To tell _me_ what I can and cannot do?" Klaus was incredulous at the extent Damon was willing to go to. Irritated naturally, but something in him filled with a strange sort of excitement at the younger vampire's daring and the fact that he stood toe to toe with an original and refused to back down.

"Jeremy is off limits. I don't care if the fucking messiah himself said to speed up the process. It's not happening till I say it is."

"Aw come on Damon, I want out of this place!" Enzo complained. "Not that it hasn't been fun," he said to Klaus, "but small towns just aren't my thing."

"Yeah, well, give it five more days. Then we can leave. Do you even realise how hard it is to get anything through the skulls of these Xbox brains?" And just like that, Damon relaxed, vengeful guardian melting into annoyed older brother persona as he complained of the teenagers' irritating habits. Enzo grinned and Klaus blinked at the sudden change, the original's lips curving upwards slightly in a small, fond smile as Damon ranted.

* * *

In the end Klaus had given them three days. His patience had worn thin and the blond Hybrid acted as he was wont to do in such a circumstance. So really, standing in that dark bar, surrounded by who knows how many bodies and Jeremy looking at him, betrayed, Damon didn't know why he was so surprised.

His primary objective was to ensure Baby Gilbert's continued survival, a feat which he still wasn't entirely sure how he managed. Throwing his car keys to Matt and growling at the teenagers to get some weapons from the car, he turned his anger on Klaus.

"What part of ' _Jeremy is off limits and I don't care if the messiah himself asked me to speed up the fucking process_ ' do you not understand?" He snarled, once again the vengeful guardian. Klaus chuckled as he responded, entirely unperturbed by Damon's rage.

"Let's see, all of it." He smiled sweetly. "So here's how it's going to go. I hear that car start, I begin to rip out hearts. More specifically, the useless blond human's who is constantly accompanying my hunter. Young Jeremy has all night to kill these vampires. I'm certain you'll ensure he doesn't die in the process."

If it wouldn't have been signing his own death warrant, Damon would have punched the smug bastard in the face.

* * *

Enzo lazily ripped out the heart of the vampire that had pinned Jeremy to a tree as Damon ensured that the teenager was still relatively intact.

"It's been a while since I've been on a good hunt. This may even be fun." He said casually to Damon who simply rolled his eyes, amused at Enzo's outlook on things.

"I'd say you and I have a different opinion of what the word 'fun' means but we both know I'd be lying." The dark haired vampire said, grinning. He looked at Jeremy, his grin far darker than before, a promise of the bloodshed to follow. "Let's go a-hunting."

* * *

A few hours later, drenched in blood and back at the lake house as Damon looked over Jeremy to ensure he wasn't too badly hurt, the teenager pushed him away.

Hearing Jeremy accuse Damon of only caring because of Elena left both Enzo and Damon laughing like mad men.

"Little Gilbert, I assure you, any interest Damon may have had for your sister faded quite a while ago. There are better things to do than obsess over a girl who happily leads people on and insisted upon denying any and everything that doesn't suit her." Enzo observed while Damon attempted, and failed, to control his laughter.

Jeremy looked confused for a moment before understanding shone in his eyes and he gave a slight nod and accepted the blood Damon offered him to heal his cuts and bruises. "Ok fine. But what do we do about the vampires that we still haven't killed yet tonight?"

"Right. Them. They'll probably go back to the bar by morning. Easy pickings and all that. Go get cleaned up. We'll head out again in an hour."

* * *

To say that finding Kol standing over a pile of dead vampires was an unpleasant surprise was a huge understatement. Pushing Jeremy towards Enzo and yelling at his mate to get the kid out before Kol actually ripped his arm off, he mercilessly pushed through the barriers in his mind, tapping into the Old Magic and releasing a wave of dark energy towards the original. Kol was thrown back into the wall and Damon was suddenly enveloped by weakness. Damn. That was why unless he was high on human blood he hated using his particular power. Especially under such circumstances where he was already so tired. Exhaustion threatened to overtake him and the next thing he knew was Kol throwing him into a wall, the original's face a mask of anger.

* * *

Reaching the Salvatore home after a few frantic calls from Stefan, Klaus was extremely displeased when he found a compelled and clearly bled free of vervain Damon.

Sighing in annoyance at his younger brother's actions, Klaus wondered how long Elijah would let him get away with daggering Kol again. Unfortunately, it probably wouldn't be very long.

Oh well, a few days wouldn't make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things. His brother should know better than to mess with what was his.

In a pitiful attempt to distract him by Stefan, Klaus was made aware of Elena attempting to sneak into Damon's cell. He strained to make out her demands of Damon but her anger at his clear rebuttal was obvious. Through the sounds coming from upstairs it was clear she was looking for something and it was rather irritating to realise how they underestimated his range of hearing.

He made his way to the cellar where Damon's delightful younger brother had dumped him, entirely unsurprised to find Enzo already inside and the door unlocked.

"What exactly did Elena want from you that Stefan had to distract me from hearing? And apparently still hasn't found if the sounds if her rummaging through your room is any indication." Klaus asked, with a chuckle at the thought of Elena's ineptitude.

"What do you think?" Was Damon's reply with the accompanying eyeroll. "She wanted the stake. I don't know why, nor do I care. But I do know that her plans always leave something to be desired so I'd suggest you keep an eye on her. And no, I'm not an idiot. I didn't tell her where it was. She's not going to find it, don't worry." He assured the original who looked like he was about to murder Elena and paint the town in her blood.

Klaus turned abruptly and made to leave before stopping and facing Damon and Enzo. "Thank you." There was nothing but complete sincerity in his voice as he spoke and clear gratitude in his eyes. "Now if you will excuse me, I have a brother and a doppelganger to deal with."

* * *

It must have been two am as Damon made his way to the cemetery where Alaric was buried. Bottle of bourbon in hand, he sat in front of his friend's grave, silent as memories of their time together flashed through his mind, his heart heavy. He almost didn't know what to say, but once he started, the words wouldn't stop flowing. He spoke of what had happened after he died. How much everything was going to hell in a silver platter. How after he left, everything in Mystic Falls had become a clusterfuck of emotions and bad decisions.

"You know what they are? Children. Like finding this so called cure is going to make everything ok. Like it's going to make the fact that you _died_ ok. Or pretending that at the end of the day, Elena's not going to end up like the rest of us murderous vampires. Stupid, delusional, exasperating little children. And I know what you're going to say: " _Makes them feel better Damon_ ". So what? For how long? A _minute_? A _day_? What difference does it make?

"Because in the end, I'll probably still be alone and you'll still be dead and every candle, every prayer, every false hope is not gonna make up for the fact that the only thing I have left is a hole in my life where you used to be after Esther took you away from me. And a rock. With a birthday carved into it that I'm pretty sure is wrong." Damon said bitterly as he gestured towards the gravestone, bottle in hand half empty already.

"You know that Professor Shadypants I spoke about earlier? He's got Bonnie convinced that this Silas will bring back the dead. Somehow, I'm more inclined to believe the original vampire who's clearly terrified enough of this guy to risk Klaus' wrath by compelling me to kill Jeremy.

"Don't worry, kid's still alive. I wouldn't break my promise to you. Almost killed Kol after that though. But then Klaus would be mad, and Rebekah and Elijah would be sad and even though he wouldn't admit it at first, Klaus would be sad too. And this is probably the drunk me talking so you're not allowed to hold it against me, but the thought of him being sad makes me sad in the same way Enzo being sad would make me sad. And for some reason I don't want that. Besides the fact that I'd probably be dead after Klaus was through with me, I just don't want them to see a brother dying. It's just wrong. Seeing family die never really goes away and I'm really glad I hid that damn stake from Elena. She came up with the plan to kill Jeremy while Enzo and Klaus kept me company and locked up in my own house." He was slightly smug as he took a swig of the amber liquid. "She couldn't find the stake. Told you my hiding places were good. But anyway, Klaus daggered Kol for a day. Apparently any longer and big brother 'Lijah would be mad. It broke the compulsion though, so no more wanting to kill Jeremy on sight. Well, not unless he's being an annoying little shit. Yay." He sighed then. "I should be long gone by now. Partying with Enzo around the states. Wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted. Instead, I'm just here, taking care of the kids. You owe me big."

He left the bottle by the grave, still partially filled with the bourbon that he and Alaric both enjoyed so much. Damon turned around and walked away into Enzo's waiting arms, unable to hear Ric's reply or feel the accompanying hand brushing against his shoulder.

* * *

 **So I'm not entirely sure about this chapter and especially not the end. Oh well, Damon was a bamf anyway. I don't know why but I wanted him to be protective of Jeremy cos of Alaric. Hope that's ok.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ok so this chapter is smaller than my normal ones. I'm sorry. But there is some Denzo action which imma need feedback on. As in, should I never attempt it again or was it ok. Don't kill me for the end of this chapter please. Its four in the morning and I have no idea what I'm doing and this is a late update. I'm really sorry.**

* * *

If Klaus was being honest, Caroline was a lost cause. She was clearly attracted to him, no matter how much she denied her feelings, that much was obvious. She was, however, entirely enamoured by Tyler. When he truly thought about it, the only time she willingly came to him was when she wanted something from him. When she was distracting him because someone else planned to harm his family. He couldn't in good conscience allow himself to fall for a teenager whose sole purpose in life was to use him and attempt to destroy his family. Especially when she refused to even acknowledge him unless it suited her.

So maybe he was slightly disillusioned by Caroline Forbes, he was _entirely_ justified in the emotion. And maybe he was being a little vindictive when he threatened Tyler, it wasn't as if the young hybrid didn't deserve it. But then again, he always was a vindictive bastard. How else was he to exert his control over those who wished to stand against him?

Perhaps there _was_ a smug grin spreading across his face at the memory of Tyler's fear when he had told the young hybrid to run and keep running unless he wanted to be ripped apart by him. It was only a natural response after he finally put the teenager in his place. After all, a wolf had no place making demands of a king.

* * *

Enzo was climbing into Damon's car just as Stefan arrived, pure panic in the younger Salvatore's eyes.

"You're leaving again?" There was something indefinable in his voice but there was no mistaking his intent. Stefan wasn't letting his brother leave again. Not after everything he had learnt.

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to send a postcard at Christmas." Damon said flippantly.

"I don't want a postcard, I want my brother! I can't let you just leave again!" Stefan had spent over a month without his brother after living with the man for more than two years. He had gotten attached, sue him. All he knew was that he couldn't see him walk away again. Not after everything.

Before, any tension between them had been because they were apparently incapable of moving on from the same girl. When Damon wasn't actively trying to ruin his life, Stefan really enjoyed spending time with Damon like they used to before Katherine came and ripped them apart. And he had failed Damon too many times in the past. Letting him go now would be failing him again. He couldn't do that. "I won't fail you again." His voice was small, nearly inaudible, but Damon was still able to pick it up.

Damon sighed before responding, tiredness evident on his face. "You're not and you haven't. Ok? I was an idiot for blaming you back then and I was an idiot for not telling you that I moved on a long damn time ago." Seeing the slight hope that was building up on Stefan's face was hard, especially knowing that he had to crush it. "But I can't stay here. I'm sorry, Stef, I just can't."

"Then just come with us to find the cure. Please?" Damon's heart wrenched at the desperation in his brother's voice, not knowing how to respond to him. He didn't have to because at that moment Enzo spoke up coming to stand next to him.

"Ugh, Damon your brother is killing me with the puppy eyes and they're not even directed at me! Besides, even if we do leave, I give it two days before your phone explodes with calls."

Stefan shrugged at that last bit. Elena was ridiculously obsessive about calling people who didn't want to talk to her. She seemed to think for some reason that the twenty-fifth time she called they may actually pick up.

Damon sighed and hid his face in Enzo's shoulder. "We're never leaving this town are we?"

Enzo gripped his mate's neck, rubbing it comfortingly. "Probably not."

* * *

"You _what_?" Damon was one hundred percent done with Elena. The doppelganger in question looked smug and rather proud of herself, confused that Damon disagreed so vehemently with what she had asked Bonnie to help her accomplish. The witch shrugged, nonplussed in the face of Damon's incredulity.

"Klaus is a liability and an unpredictable one at that. He was coming for Elena, we didn't exactly have much of a choice Damon." Bonnie said in defense of her actions.

The elder Salvatore brother actually facepalmed at that argument. "Somehow, I'm pretty sure that was the result of you trying to kill Klaus' _brother_. It might just be me, but last time I checked, that was a pretty legitimate reason for wanting someone dead! Especially since this is _Klaus_ we're talking about. What the _hell_ did you expect?"

"Damon, he was trying to _kill_ me!" Elena said, her voice gaining pitch with every note.

"News flash, Elena! A lot of people have tried or wanted to kill you, myself included! Doesn't mean you confine them to a single room and leave Caroline and Tyler of all people to watch over them!"

Elena's face contorted in anger and she drew her hand back, slapping Damon. The elder vampire stepped toward her, his own rage building up. Before he could do much more, the loud cracking noise of breaking bones could be heard and Elena crumpled to the floor, with a broken neck. Enzo stood behind her, his face a mask of rage at her daring to hurt his mate. There was a satisfied gleam in his eyes as he looked up at Damon, entirely unrepentant.

"What? She deserved it." He justified, turning to Bonnie. "She'll wake up in a few hours, no harm no foul."

Bonnie exhaled harshly. "I just want my best friend back to the way she used to be. That doesn't mean I agree with her thinking. The boundary spell containing Klaus will wear off in a few days giving us time to get the cure. I don't care whose throat it's shoved down so long as Elena is one of them. Understand?" She didn't wait for a response, simply lifting Elena using magic and leaving.

"Well, that was eventful," Damon began, turning to Enzo.

"Understatement." Was the brunette's response before crashing their lips together in a fiery show of passion. Breaking apart after what seemed like forever and an age, Enzo leaned his forehead against Damon's. "She is not allowed to hurt you, physically or in any other way."

Damon smirked, closing the distance between their lips in one smooth movement. "Please, have you seen her? I barely felt it."

Enzo pulled off Damon's jacket, speeding the two of them upstairs and into Damon's room. They ended up with Damon up against the wall, Enzo pressed into him. "It's the principle of the matter, Damon. Next time its her heart. Rather fitting considering the damage she's done to your own, don't you think?" Enzo's lips curved upward in a grin that was mirrored on Damon's face as the elder vampire flipped them over, now pressing Enzo up against the wall.

"I think, that that may possibly be the nicest thing someone's done for me." Damon replied between kisses, moving his head down and nipping at Enzo's neck, soft gasps escaping the younger vampire's lips every time Damon's tongue touched skin.

There were no more words to be said as they tore off each other's clothes and fell into Damon's excessively, _delightfully_ , large bed.

* * *

To his credit, Professor Shadypants, as Damon had taken to calling him, did lead them to the correct island while on the hunt for the metaphorical pot of gold under the rainbow. It was what happened on the island that proved Damon's suspicions of the man correct.

Unfortunately, because Bonnie trusted the professor and claimed she needed him to help locate the cure, Damon couldn't torture Shane to get answers, much less kill him. Since he had a grudging respect for the witch, built up over time meant he, for once, decided to give Shadypants the benefit of the doubt. He knew he'd regret the decision even as he made it.

When Jeremy disappeared he couldn't even bring himself to tell Bonnie 'I told you so,' instead just coming up with a plan to locate the damn teenager, damning the professor with every thought. After all, his promise to Ric still held. Jeremy was _not_ dying on his watch. Not today at least.

* * *

Enzo and Damon reached the cave where Silas had been kept for two thousand years to see Katherine attempting to use Jeremy as a blood bag for the immortal. Enzo's lips parted and he asked the question burning through all four people present at the moment, effectively distracting her long enough for Damon to separate her from Jeremy.

"Where the _bloody hell_ did you come from?"

She had turned, confused at the voices, giving Damon the opportunity to throw her into the wall. He held her there, hand around her throat, punching through his mental defenses to reach into his reserve of Old Magic. Katherine clawed desperately at his hand, trying and failing to dislodge it.

Lips curving upwards in a dark grin at her current weakness, Damon took a second to enjoy the fact that for once, it was she who was the weaker one. He plunged a hand into her chest, smirking as she gasped in surprise and pain, wrapping his fingers around her heart.

"That was for Stefan and I. For the people we used to be." Damon raised his eyes to hers, his a mask of calm, absolutely clear, hers wide and fearful.

"Damon, you'll regret this! I swear, no matter how angry you are at me right now-" Katherine spoke quickly but was cut off by Damon.

"The only thing I regret was that I allowed myself to fall for you back in 1864." With that, he wrenched out her heart and Katherine Pierce crumpled to the floor eyes wide and unseeing.


	8. A funeral for the lady

**Ok, I'm just gonna go ahead with this. I'm exhausted, I have major long ass exams next week and I didn't not wanna post something for this week cos that would make me a bigger asshole than I already am. So yeah, you get a small chapter because I have exams and when I finished writing what I did for this chapter, my brain was like ok, that's it. I'm not putting any more cos I like it as it is. I hope you guys like it as much as my brain does! Also, do tell me if you want me to focus on any particular character or ship in the future and if you wanna see something, don't hesitate and let me know in the reviews and I'll see what I can do to make it happen! Btw, on that awful season finale you guys had to experience, I am so sorry for you guys and even though I haven't seen season seven cos I thought it was a piece of crap, season finales can be brutal and you lot have my condolences. My little cuz did rant to me about it so I know what happened and if you guys wanna rant too, feel free to go ahead.**

* * *

Damon, Enzo, Bonnie and Jeremy stood around Silas' motionless form. Katherine's body lay discarded at the side. Damon would later cremate it like every vampire deserved and happily scatter her ashes for the wind to take where it would, the life debt she owed them after all she had done finally repaid.

"We can't take the cure without waking him up, I already tried!" Jeremy argued while Enzo rolled his eyes. He gestured towards Jeremy.

"Human." Then made a vague hand motion towards himself and Damon. "Vampires. Last I checked, generally stronger. Let's not jump on the 'wake the 2000 year old being who'll probably kill us all out of pure spite' wagon, shall we?"

Now it was Jeremy's turn to roll his eyes. "Don't talk to me like I'm stupid, I'm not." Before the argument could go any further, Bonnie spoke up.

"The guy's practically fossilized, how exactly do you plan on getting the cure out of what's essentially stone?"

Enzo held up a finger in the universal 'wait' motion, a smirk playing around his lips as he looked around them. Damon grinned, a large rock already in his hand.

"Way ahead of you Enzo. And Bonnie? Simple, you hit it with a bigger rock."

Bonnie was not convinced. "And risk destroying the cure in the process? No thanks. That's our one chance to get Elena back to normal, I'm not blowing it because you had a dumb idea."

"Poorly executed awesome idea," Damon corrected her. Bonnie glared. " _Fine_." Damon sighed. "Now what? If we give him a human to suck on the guy'll drain 'em dry and besides you two, the only other human in the vicinity is Professor Shadypants who you don't want dead for some reason."

Enzo's fangs elongated and he bit into his wrist. "It has to be one of us then."

Damon's expression hardened at the motion and black veins rippled under his eyes which still remained a clear blue instead of changing to a burnt amber. "It's not going to be you."

Enzo stepped towards him, not backing down for even a second. "We don't have much time before Rebekah gets here with Stefan and Elena. You know how desperate she is for the damn thing. Besides, it's sure as hell not going to be you. Not so soon after you tapped into the Old Magic. We've already just established why we can't use any humans so step aside and let me do this. If the situation gets out of hand, you'll still be able to prevent it from getting too far." Moving past Damon who was clearly still highly unsatisfied with the turn of events, Enzo pressed his bleeding wrist over Silas' face with only the briefest of hesitation.

A moment passed, two, then Silas' hand surged up, curving around Enzo's wrist in a tight hold, pressing it harder against his mouth, truly feeding from the vampire. As his hold on the cure loosened, Enzo slid it from the being's fingers and wrested his arm from Silas' grip with some difficulty, the being's hand dropping to his side again.

He held up the vial, the clear glass glinting in the pale light that was present. "See? No harm, no foul." He tossed it to Bonnie who caught it and held it close to her chest, a smile of utter relief spreading across her face as she tucked the cure safely into her pocket. A grin covered his own face and he began to move forward before feeling a tight grip on his neck pulling him back and teeth clamped down on his exposed neck. Enzo had only a second to see the panic that covered Damon's face before the elder vampire let loose a torrent of energy to separate him from Silas. He experienced the odd sensation of being weightless as the force and desperation of Damon's power sent him flying back against the wall and everything faded to black.

* * *

Enzo woke up to the silk sheets of Damon's bed, head pounding and vision slightly blurred. A mug filled nearly to the brim with blood was sitting on the bedside table and he reached for it thankfully, draining it like a parched man given water after days in the desert. His headache lessening considerably, he looked around the room to find Damon sitting on a chair a little away from the bed, drawn into himself, shoulders slightly hunched, fingers fiddling with something he couldn't quite make out. He looked like a child readying himself for an awaited punishment fully believed to be deserved and Enzo frowned.

"What the _bloody hel_ l are you doing all the way over there?" He asked, the 'away from me' unsaid, but projected and Damon started, looking up at Enzo, eyes betraying his fear even though he had clearly tried to keep it hidden. The younger vampire narrowed his eyes; Damon knew better than to hide from him, they knew each other too well for that. When the elder Salvatore didn't move, Enzo rolled his eyes and patted the bed forcefully. "Get over here you idiot and tell me whose blood is going to be splattering the wall by the time I'm done with them."

"No one's just yet, probably my own at some point." Damon took a deep breath before finally standing up and coming to sit on the edge of the bed. "I let Silas loose. Bonnie and Jeremy were hurt and I couldn't think straight and you-" Damon took a deep shuddering breath, cutting himself off. Enzo began to understand why Damon looked as he did, why he was so hesitant.

"That energy surge, the one you loosed after Silas decided to try and eat me," Enzo began, "it what, knocked me out when it sent me into the wall?"

Damon swallowed, finally looking at Enzo with troubled eyes. "It didn't _just_ knock you out, it snapped your neck in at least two different places and several of your ribs. You've been out for more than a day. I thought- I hurt you, badly. I wasn't fast enough to stop Silas in the first place, he would have drained you, maybe even- and it would have been my fault. You're hurt because of me."

And that explained so, so much. Enzo nodded and leaned into Damon, wrapping an arm around his waist and resting his head on the elder vampire's shoulder. Damon's hand came up, his fingers running through Enzo's hair as if subconsciously. "It wasn't your fault, you know. If anything, it was mine for not moving out of the way."

"How was this _not_ my fault?" Damon asked, incredulous and, damn, Enzo wanted to punch whoever it was that had drilled into Damon's head that everything was his own fault. Since that wasn't a viable option, he pressed a light kiss to Damon's shoulderblade, nuzzling into the crook of his neck. _'Not your fault.'_ He projected even though he was sure that nothing short of a sledgehammer would be enough to pound it into his mate's head.

He opened his mouth to say something, anything that might convince Damon otherwise but was interrupted by the door opening. Stefan stepped inside, forest green eyes filled with concern. "Enzo, glad to see you're awake. You ok man?"

"Never been better. What about the doppleganger? I sincerely doubt that Bennett would have given Rebekah the cure after everything."

" _Elena_ is fine, just adjusting to being human again. On the topic of dopplegangers, what exactly do you plan on doing with Katherine's body Damon?"

The elder Salvatore looked up at that, his eyes hard as he looked at his brother. "I suggest you call the kids, little bro. Tell them we're having a bonfire tonight."

* * *

Damon emptied a bottle of whiskey over the sheet that covered Katherine's corpse and lit a match, staring at the the little flame for a second before setting the doppleganger's body alight. He stepped back and Enzo stood by his side, gripping his hand tight. Stefan stood to his left, Elena next to him, the other teenagers scattered around the pyre. He didn't know what to feel as he stood there and watched the woman to whom he had once devoted himself entirely to, not knowing that she couldn't have cared less about him.

As the flames dwindled away, having consumed what was left of Katherine Pearce, the teenagers slowly left too, Elena last as she spoke quietly to Stefan, something Damon couldn't be bothered to listen to. The elder Salvatore could still hear the roar of the flames and smell the burning flesh. Damon's knees gave way and he found himself kneeling on the ground next to the dying embers, taking in deep shuddering breaths, hands clenched by his side.

Stefan sat down next to him as Damon composed himself, not saying anything at all for a few moments.

"It's strange to think she's finally gone," Stefan began, looking at his brother. "Almost feels as if she's going to sit up at any second with her don't care attitude, asking if we missed her."

Damon let out a low choked laugh, "she'd be a little more dramatic about it, but yeah. She's finally gone."

The two of them sat there in silence for a few moments, allowing the breeze to float past them, wondering how this changed things. Wondering where exactly they stood with each other now that the one who had torn them apart in the first place was gone.

Damon stood up, holding his hand out to Stefan, "come on brother, let's go inside." Stefan smiled and grabbed his hand, both walking inside side by side, the Salvatore brothers coming home at last.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey. This is late and short but you guys should already know that I'm an asshole. Sorry but my exams legally just finished yesterday and this was the best I could do at this point when I'm brain dead. Yay.**

 **Anyway, to people who are pissed at or annoyed at the direction I'm taking this, it's my fic, deal with it. Leave constructive criticism, ideas etc if you want but any flames and I will burn you** **right back. Sorry to the others, I just needed to get that out of my system.**

 **So it's come to my attention that there's confusion surrounding the whole soulmates situation. That's my fault, I'll admit it. I'm gonna be honest, I came up with the entire idea at random, decided it sounded ok and went with it. I don't think ahead. That probably shows in my writing but I'll probably fix it eventually. So since I'm in love with the originals, they probably will end up going to New Orleans because I fricken love Klamille. I'm serious, it is what gets me out of bed in the morning. Then 3.19 happened but I digress. For me Cami is the only one for Klaus. So the way I figure, we have actual soulmates like Damon and Enzo, then we have platonic soulmates like Team Badass, remember them? Damon and Alaric? Yeah. So since Damon and Klaus are different versions of each other and on vamp diaries Damon is one of the few who never has a problem with control and I should like that, and it feels like under different circumstances they would be besties** **, here I'm making them platonic soulmates. It happens. Sorry if you don't like it.**

 **Anyway, sorry for the short and crappy chapter I'm just trying to figure out where I'm taking this.**

* * *

"Steffy, is it just me, or is Judgy acting a little weird lately?" Damon asked his brother as he leaned against the wall of the kitchen, a mug of coffee spiked with some O positive in his hands.

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Bonnie's fine, why wouldn't she be?" Stefan replied, not looking up from the omelette he was making. Damon shrugged, taking a sip from his mug.

"Don't know but she just seems... _off_ somehow."

"I second that." Enzo stated as he walked into the kitchen and gave Damon a light kiss. The raven haired vampire brightened considerably as his mate came into the room, lips upturning in a smile. "Little witch has been acting weird lately, how have you _not_ noticed?" Enzo continued as he made his way to the fridge to grab a bag of blood. "Been happening ever since the whole Silas thing on that damn island."

The smile on Damon's face slid off at the mention of the island. Stefan, catching the abrupt change in Damon's expression, looked at his brother questioningly but Damon just shook his head and smiled weakly, turning his gaze to the mug clasped in his hands, consciously loosening his tightened grip on it. Enzo, whose back was to Damon, didn't catch the movement and continued talking.

"But then again, you have been busy with the doppleganger, what with her taking the cure and becoming human again. How's that going so far? Not that I give a damn, but for politeness's sake." Damon snickered at Enzo's obvious dislike for Elena while Stefan frowned.

"We're handling it just fine, thanks and her _name_ is _Elena_." The younger Salvatore all but growled that last bit. Enzo smirked at Stefan's irritation as he drank from the blood bag he was holding.

"I know, I just choose not to use it. So what are we doing about Bennett?"

"Good question." Damon looked at his brother. "Caroline still needs to work at her espionage skills, she could use the practice. Steffy?" Stefan flipped his finally finished omelette onto a plate and looked up at his brother.

"Do what you have to but leave me out of this. Oh and make sure nothing happens to Bonnie. I don't wanna be explaining that one to Elena. Pass me the pepper, will you?" Stefan said as he tasted his omelette.

Damon shook his head and tossed him the pepper shaker. "You're so whipped little brother."

* * *

Caroline huffed as Damon and Enzo sat down on either side of her at the bar. "What do you want? I'm busy."

Damon raised an eyebrow and looked at her with his piercing gaze. "Clearly. Anyway, you're being called to duty, soldier."

"I'm not a soldier! Can't I just have _one_ day of peace without all this supernatural stuff?" The blonde cried before setting her head down on the wooden table in front of her in annoyance.

"You just had _three_!" Damon told her, unimpressed by the teen's actions. Caroline glared at him. Damon wasn't particularly fazed by it and opened his mouth to snark at her again before Enzo shot him a look. _'Let me handle this.'_

"Ignore Damon, he's completely tactless ninety percent of the time." Enzo told Caroline, ignoring the Salvatore's indignant protest as Caroline giggled. "Point is, something's up with Bonnie." Caroline immediately raised her head, worried for her friend.

"Bonnie? What's wrong with her? She seemed fine to me! Is she hurt? What can I do to help?" She looked from Enzo to Damon, blue eyes showing clearly her anxiety for her friend.

Damon sighed. "Bonnie's fine, she's just been acting weird lately."

"Well, she and Jeremy did nearly _die_ on that dumb island, she's gonna be a little different!"

"Caroline..." Damon said warningly and this time Enzo didn't miss the change in his mood at the mention of the island.

"Damon..." Caroline mimicked mockingly. Damon just looked at her. "Fine! What do you want me to do?"

"For now?" Enzo said. "Just look over the little witch. Make sure she's ok. See if she's acting strangely. And pray it's all just our imagination."

* * *

Bonnie was not fine. Not in the slightest. Well, according to what the others would think. She had everything perfectly under control. It was probably just best if the others remained unaware of her activities.

How Silas had made it off the island, she had no idea. But she was a witch. A Bennett witch, in fact, so she was more than confident in the fact that supernatural beings couldn't compel or affect her. She could take Silas. She was sure of it.

She had no idea how wrong she was.

* * *

"When were you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Damon looked up from his book to face Enzo, confused at his mate's question.

"Oh, I don't know," the younger vampire began, almost mockingly. "Maybe that you still blame yourself for what happened on that bloody island. Let's start with that, shall we? Or how about the fact that you haven't so much as _touched_ the Old Magic ever since? Don't think I haven't noticed, I'm not one of the many damned imbeciles that inhabit this town."

"Enzo, you got hurt because I couldn't control my own damn magic. How is it _not_ my fault? It is what it is. End of story." Damon's acceptance of his being at fault enraged Enzo in a manner little else had and he slammed Damon into a wall, pure anger and instinct driving him.

"I got hurt because of a two thousand year old bastard who got a little bloodthirsty, quite literally. I'm a vampire, I healed and I moved on! Why haven't you?" At his words something changed, something fragile that Damon was using to hold himself together fell apart and shattered into a million fragments and Damon broke.

"Maybe because I _can't_! Maybe because every time I close my eyes all I can see is magic, _my_ magic throwing you into the wall! My magic hurting you! That wasn't a two thousand year old asshole, that was _me_!" Damon shouted back, pain clearly evident in his sapphire eyes. " _I_ did that to you. Not Silas, _me_." His voice trembled and quivered at the last bit and Enzo could finally understand just how much Damon was affected by what had happened.

Enzo's hands left Damon's as if he'd been burnt, horror and understanding filling his gaze as he lifted a fist and slammed it into the wall next to Damon. "Dammit you idiot! Why didn't you just tell me? Even if it was your magic which sent me into that wall, I don't blame you!" He placed his hands on Damon's face, his touch so very gentle as he looked Damon in the eyes and spoke, his voice soft but firm. _"I would never blame you."_

"Why?" Damon's voice was equally soft, confusion clouding his eyes as he looked at Enzo. "Everyone else would blame me. Why not you?"

Rage and frustration built up inside Enzo again at Damon's words but he pushed it down and concentrated on the broken man in front of him. "I'm pretty sure we've already established that I'm not everyone else; don't compare me to those who don't even try to understand you. Honestly, I leave you alone for a single bloody decade so you can sort out your Katherine mess and this is what happens." Enzo laughed weakly and ran a hand over his face. "God, I am never letting you out of my sight again."

"Somehow, I don't think I'd mind that too much either way." Damon said as he pulled Enzo into a kiss. It was hungry and desperate and he poured everything he had into that small action. The only one other than Enzo who had ever offered him complete understanding and lack of judgement had been Alaric and Damon hadn't realized just how much he needed that acceptance, how much he craved it. He had already lost Alaric, he wasn't losing Enzo. And if he held his mate a little tighter than usual, well, call it paranoia. It had kept him alive so far, hadn't it?


	10. Chapter 10

**OK, screw this. That's about all I have to say on this matter. It's been months, I know. I'm an awful person and deserve all the hate, I know. I'm not even trying to make excuses by this point, I've just completely lost any spark I had for writing. It isn't just this story either, it's all my fics. It's like I'm drowning in apathy and emptiness. I have nothing to drive me, nothing to push me. at first I figured it may be because of the lack of material, no new episodes but when the episodes came, they were full of bullshit and stuff I honestly could not believe of my favourite characters. So until I find a way out of this apathy, this lack of... well, everything this is probably going to be it for a bit. Hopefully just till I get my emotions balanced out again. this chapter is for those of you who have been asking for an update for quite a while now. I'm sorry to have disappointed you.**

 **Since you all have probably no memory of what happened previously, this is an AU of season 4. Katherine is dead, Elena no longer a vampire, Silas, the dick from seasons 4 and 5 is still loose and using Bonnie cos why the fuck not. Denzo is a thing and the lot of them are actually using their brains for once. Yay.**

* * *

Alright, maybe, just _maybe_ Bonnie had overestimated herself just a little bit. Only a little bit, mind you. She totally and completely still had this entire situation under control, it was hardly her fault that she had been singled out by a two thousand year old asshole who could kinda maybe sorta compel her and change himself to look like pretty much anyone. She totally had this despite what anyone else may think when they found out.

A little voice in the back of her head that sounded suspiciously like a certain dark haired Salvatore snarked at her to stop lying to herself. She ignored it. She couldn't, however, ignore Caroline's high pitched voice as her best friend yelled at her for being an idiot. "In my defense," she cut in, rolling her eyes at the blonde vampire. "I have full control of the situation and despite what you think, I _do_ actually know what I'm doing. Tell me again who's been the one saving all our asses since all this began?"

"Well... if we're being _completely_ honest it was probably also Stefan and maybe Damon and Klaus some of the time too. Also, Bonnie! This is a two _thousand_ year old vampire. You can't do this by yourself!"

"Says who?" She may be stubborn but at least Bonnie had some idea of what they were up against this time. Besides, Elena had just gotten back to normal and she want going to be the one to mess that up. Silas could go rot in hell before she jeopardised her friend's relationship after it finally started to go right.

"Says common sense! At least let us help you before you burn yourself out or worse, die!" It was Caroline's earnest expression and their shared history which finally moved Bonnie to agree. Despite her shortcomings, Caroline would do anything for her friends. Becoming a vampire hadn't changed that but, Bonnie realised, it made her even more determined and able to care for those that mattered. Vampirism suited her and Bonnie had to accept that, accept _Caroline_ in a way she hadn't been able to ever since the blonde was turned. So, taking a deep breath, Bonnie let go of the hurt and anger and grudges she still held against one of her best friends for something that hadn't ever been her choice and smiled warmly at the taller girl. It was a real smile, the first in ages - in fact, Bonnie couldn't remember the last time she smiled this way.

"Alright," she said, "I'll tell the others. I don't have full control of the situation," she admitted. "Not in the way I thought I had. Will you help me?"

Caroline smiled back, dimples on full display as she embraced her friend. "I'd _love_ to help you." She said softly.

* * *

"So let me see if I have this right," Damon drawled from where he lay on the couch, head nestled comfortably in his lover's lap. "Asshole from the cave is alive and kicking, well, in the way any vamp is alive I suppose. He approached Judgy here who thought she could take him because vampires can't compel witches and, well, it's _Judgy,_ our all powerful badass witch. Turns out if you're two thousand years old, you _can_ compel witches and so Witchy here, finally realising that she _couldn't_ take him, comes to us as a last resort. Remind me again just why we're the _last_ resort instead of the first line of defense? I really thought we had something going for a while there. Am I the only one who feels even slightly betrayed?" He placed a hand on his chest dramatically, feigning hurt.

"Shut up Damon." That was Stefan. The younger Salvatore may have been amused by his brother's antics but after a while they got a little tiring, especially when they were all rather stressed. The jibe, however, was good natured seeing as they had just started rebuilding their relationship and the last thing Stefan wanted was to blow it to smithereens yet again.

"Oh, that hurt, Steffy. And here I was, just trying to help. Well, help being a relative word and all that." Damon had to get in, snickering, before being smacked by Enzo on the arm and being told yet again to shut up if he wasn't going to be of any use.

"So anyway, Silas can look like anyone at all which is a big problem, something which was more than proven by the whole Katherine mess," Bonnie said, rolling her eyes at the eldest vampires in the room. Honestly, a hundred and fifty years, give or take, they still behaved like children.

"Fantastic, another freaking doppelganger, *just what we needed. How do we kill him, again?"

"Got to love how death is always the solution for you, Damon. Why is it _never_ something less final or bloody?" Elena asked, annoyed and barely looking at the vampire in question.

"Because one day it'll come to bite me in the ass. Would've thought you'd have learnt that by now. Also, _what on earth_ are you complaining about? You're still here, aren't you? Clearly, death isn't _always_ the answer with me although that is unfortunately thanks to _certain_ people who will remain unnamed." The vampire sighed dramatically, mock glaring at his younger brother before turning to look at Bonnie. "So, Judgy, what's the plan?"

Bonnie sighed in exasperation. "Firstly, I have a name, not that it matters. Secondly, all he claims to want is the cure."

"Didn't the doppelganger already _take_ said cure?" Enzo asked confused, jabbing a finger in Elena's direction without looking at her. "So what, are we supposed to drain her blood and give it to Mr. I Clearly Want To Die? Because if so, I'm _all_ for this plan."

"Why is it so hard for you to remember my name?" Elena burst out. The teenager's cheeks were red, anger and annoyance clearly displayed. Amusement shone in Enzo's eyes as he replied.

"It's not that I don't remember your name, Sweetheart, it's just that I couldn't care less. But onto more important matters. Do we drain her or not?"

"Do I look like a doctor?" Bonnie asked, heatedly. She didn't wait for a reply before continuing. "A blood bag should be enough."

"So, problem solved?" Caroline interjected, long around the room. "See Bonnie? Not too hard right?" The witch just rolled her eyes at her best friend.

Damon raised a hand slightly into the air, speaking in a bored tone of voice. "As someone who's been experimented on by people who were doctors, a blood bag isn't going to cut it. The cure's probably diluted with her blood by this point."

"So what do you suggest we do, Mr. Unhelpful?" Caroline asked, annoyed that he was poking holes in a perfectly sound plan.

"Enzo, I get the feeling that we're the only people who bother watching television any more. Wouldn't you agree?" The elder Salvatore smirked when the vampire in question agreed with him, smacked him again and told him to get to the point. "Basically, replace Elena's blood. Drain her of the current blood that is sustaining her life force or whatever and replace it with new blood at the same time. The blood she loses is replaced instantly and the cure sucked out of her at the same time too. we can probably even get Meredith to do it for us seeing as how she still owes us a couple. And if something goes wrong, well then, I suppose you'll have another chance at eternity with my brother. _Everyone wins!_ "

"Damon does have a point for once," Stefan ventured to say. He received a glare from Elena but ignoring it was easy. After all, why complicate their lives any further than necessary. "I say we give the guy what he wants and move on in life. This way, no one dies and no one gets hurt. We're all saved unnecessary pain and torture at the hands of a two thousand year old being. Everyone wins."

"I still think we should just desiccate him again," Bonnie grumbled.

"Where would the fun be in that?" Enzo asked, winking at her. The witch actually cracked a smile at that.

* * *

"OK! I'm calling an intervention!" Caroline yelled out as she entered Bonnie's room. She was holding a pillow and a bag stuffed with who knows what although Bonnie could make out the top of a bottle of wine peaking out. Following her gaze, the blonde vampire grinned widely. "I might have raided the Salvatore's collection. Enzo said he would make sure that Damon wouldn't come after us."

"OK, but let's be honest," Bonnie began, laughing at the mention of the two, "Damon and Enzo? The guy chased after Elena so hard I can barely believe he took his eyes off her long enough to as much as _look_ at anyone else, much less a _guy_. My gaydar needs some serious revamping."

"Bon," Caroline held up a hand in protest, "an incredibly _gorgeous_ guy with whom he _clearly_ has major history! _Give credit where credit is due!_ But yes, gaydar plus fixing equals necessary! Although, they are _way_ more adorable than Damon with Elena would be- actually, Elena with Damon would be pretty much unbearable actually. I may even have had to rip my eyes out had I ever been forced to see that. Even better, our Asshole Salvatore is much less of a jerk now and we don't have to deal with Elena pining over someone _completely_ , utterly and _totally_ wrong for her! Its a win-win!"

"Can't say I disagree too much with that." Bonnie made a grabbing motion towards the bag still hanging off her friend's shoulder. "Whatever, please tell me you got my chips." Smiling and pulling out a huge bag of chips, Caroline rolled her eyes good naturedly.

"Do you think I _want_ to be hexed? _No thank you_!" Dumping everything on the bed, she sat down in front of her best friend, a smile on her face as she held Bonnie's hands in her own. "Anyway, I need some girl time and I know you do too. No vampires, no witches or werewolves or any supernatural drama for one night, OK?" At Bonnie's hesitant nod, Caroline grinned widely. "So, popcorn and The Notebook?"

* * *

"So if I ever lost it, turned off my humanity and went rogue again, what would you do?" Enzo hummed questioningly as he tore his attention away from the laptop screen to look at Damon. The Salvatore repeated his question and shrugged at Enzo's judging look. "Just asking."

"Probably join you after kicking the ass of whoever was responsible. Where would we go? Because I'm assuming you wouldn't stay to terrorize this boring town where everyone would try to make you stop."

"True." Damon repressed a shudder at the thought before brightening as an idea struck him. "Wanna rampage the White House? It would be fun!" Damon dragged out the last few words as Enzo laughed.

"Fun? Maybe. More trouble than its worth? Unfortunately, yes. Still, why not? Then I say we travel. Hit major cities all over."

"Worldwide bloodbath? When do we begin?" Damon sounded like a child asking for Christmas presents early in spite of the chances being nearly zero.

"How about we wait till the next time the doppelganger pisses you off? Otherwise it'll take one look at your brother's ridiculous brooding face and disappointed eyes and we'll be back again."

"Don't forget his hero hair," Damon inserted unhelpfully. "That, the puppy eyes, brooding and frown lines, not to mention his disappointed look. It's a whole package."

"Which means...?"

 _"No rampaging without a good reason."_ Damon finished with a sigh, sounding extremely dejected. "My little brother sucks the fun out of _everything_."

"As fascinating as that observation is, no matter how late the realisation came, do you want to finish watching an psychopath bring down Gotham city or not?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! So I'm back with a larger chapter, finally! I honestly have no idea how you guys will take this one but I really hope you like it. It feels a lot more like my previous writing for this fic, something I haven't been able to return to for a while so I mean, some fluff, some angst, all round probably dark as hell, yay!**

 **Either way, trigger warnings for implied self harm in the third portion of this chapter, don't say I didn't warn you.**

 **Also do any of you listen to K-POP? My friend got me hooked two weeks ago to BTS and now I'm obsessed. Seriously though, if you haven't already, check them out, its such a nice change from typical pop music these days.**

 **So credit for this chapter goes to Dare To Be Something More, for giving me the central idea that formed the basis of this chapter. For the record, I have no idea what the hell I'm doing with this fic anymore so ideas are always appreciated. Anyway, read, review and enjoy!**

 **Also, Disclaimer: all views presented concerning certain characters are my own and based on my own interpretation of them based on evidence provided from the show. Also, I have no idea what kind of hot mess this chapter turned out to be, nor do I know how it even got to this point.**

* * *

Stefan looked up from the pan where his pancake was nearly ready as Enzo shuffled into the kitchen, shrugging slightly when the other vampire looked at him, confused to see him cooking again. Sue him, he actually _enjoyed_ cooking breakfast sometimes, especially small easy things like pancakes. Still though, it wasn't even ten in the morning on a Saturday, so Stefan wasn't surprised to see Enzo make a bee line for the fridge, rummaging around until he found a blood-bag. The younger vampire then looked at his other, empty hand, opening and closing his fingers as if surprised he wasn't holding something.

Enzo looked around him, turning in a full circle before pouting and giving up, tearing open the bag with his teeth and gulping it down. Once he finished, he looked towards his free hand once more, bleary eyes blinking in confusion to see it still empty. "Stefan," he began quietly, his voice almost childlike in its confusion, "why is there no coffee?"

"Because I haven't made any yet?" The Salvatore answered, both confused and amused by the other's antics, especially because he had never seen Enzo act in this manner before.

"Stefan, why is there no coffee?" Enzo repeated, looking adorably morose, not that Stefan would admit it. "I've grown to actually kind of _like_ this town and destroying it while looking for some goddamn _caffeine_ isn't very high on my list today. Pancake way less important than coffee - always."

"Sorry to break it to you Enzo, but not everyone needs coffee to survive."

"Steffy? Has anyone ever told you that you might not be completely normal? Fucking mutant - not needing coffee," the other vampire grumbled.

Laughing as he flipped his finished pancake onto a plate, Stefan moved toward the cupboard which held the coffee, promising to make some immediately. The smile that followed lit up Enzo's entire face before the vampire scrunched up his nose and pressed a hand to his head, muttering about the dangers of being so happy at such an ungodly hour of the morning. Stefan ignored the fact that it was nearly ten and so, hardly an _'ungodly hour_ ' and busied himself making coffee for the tired vampire.

Pushing a mug filled nearly to the brim with coffee into Enzo's hands, Stefan was entirely unsurprised to see him gulp it all down in one go. Placing the mug on the table and cracking his neck a little, Enzo grimaced and pressed his hands against his head. "For fuck's sake, _please_ tell me there is more where that came from and some blood to go with it." He grabbed the next mug that Stefan gave him, sighing contentedly as he drank, sipping it slowly. "You, mate, are a bloody _angel_. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise or I'll hurt them for you."

Humming in amused agreement, Stefan sat down at the table across from Enzo and dug into his pancakes. "You might want to inform my brother about that belief, I'm sure he'll find a thousand reasons why I'm the opposite of an angel."

Enzo scrunched up his nose again, tilting his head slightly before answering. "He'd only find about five reasons and that's even if he was _trying_ to be an ass, which admittedly he probably would be, but he'd still agree with me. I mean, fuck, he practically _lives_ for you half the time."

"Yeah, to prolong my suffering for at least another century, I'm aware. _Hey_!" He cried out in indignation as Enzo reached out, faster than the human eye could see, smacking him upside the head. "What was that for?"

"Being a dick." Enzo replied, calmly sipping at his coffee. "Also for being an idiot, but seeing as how that's your normal state of mind, we'll let it go, even at this ridiculous time of morning."

"Well, thanks. That really means a lot." Came the sarcastic reply almost immediately.

Enzo merely put a finger to his lips in the universal shush motion as his other hand was used to massage his temples. "Don't be a smart ass, it's been a long night and I'm actually accustomed to sleep now."

"I _really_ don't need to know about my brother's-" Stefan began looking extremely uncomfortable before Enzo interrupted, chuckling softly before sobering up.

"Not sex, you idiot. Bloody nightmares. It's going to be a Bad Day which means, _please_ , for the love of all that is good and holy unlike our damned selves, keep that fucking doppelganger away from Damon if you want her alive and kicking by tomorrow still."

"A _Bad Day_?" Stefan enunciated slowly. "Care to explain?"

"Oh for _fuck's_ sake! At this rate I'm going to _literally_ kill either you or Damon. Probably both. I don't even know _why_ I'm still surprised, a fucking _rabbit_ would have better communication skills with a _fox_ then the two of you have with each other." At the younger Salvatore's confused look, he sighed heavily, covering his face with one hand. "It is too early for this shit," he mumbled. "Your brother has recurring nightmares of all the shit we were put through, along with a couple others I won't mention because I know he might actually literally kill me if I tell you. Point is, he's going to have a Bad day today so to prevent any death and/or destruction, we need cuddles, loud movies, one or two chick flicks, a shit ton of popcorn and chocolate. Possibly alcohol as well. No blood though."

"No blood?" Stefan was a little incredulous. "You _do_ realise that we're vampires, right?"

"And _you_ realise that in a hundred and fifty years you still know barely anything about your own brother?" Enzo's voice was heated, one hand tightly gripping the nearly empty mug in front of him, the other clenched tightly into a fist. He took a deep breath, unclenching his hand as he exhaled. "But that's between you and Damon. Blood will trigger him and that's the last thing we want today. I messaged Caroline and she should be here in about half an hour with the popcorn and chick flicks, hopefully some of the chocolate too. You're on alcohol duty as well as keeping everyone not cleared by me at least five miles away from the house. Oh, and if I smell blood or hear your girlfriend anywhere within a twenty feet radius of Damon's room, I _will_ snap your neck."

* * *

"And that's all I could get on such short notice." Caroline stated as she handed a large bag to Enzo. The blonde vampire looked concerned as she stood in the doorway, biting her lip as she glanced upward in the general direction of the elder Salvatore's room. "I know we haven't had the best relationship but he's not as much of a dick with you around and don't tell him, but I actually kind of like this Damon. Take care of him?"

"Always," Enzo replied, smiling softly at the teenager in front of him. He never failed to be surprised at how much care and love she was capable of. Even when she came across as the epitome of an airhead, she still cared so much about those around her, it took him a while to fully process and believe it. Despite the fact that he hadn't even told her most of the details regarding the current situation, she still came through and was even concerned for Damon. Caroline really was a rare individual. "Oh, Caroline?" He hesitated a little at his next request, unsure of how she would take it. "Since I need Stefan today, do you mind-"

"Distracting Elena from her boyfriend and still ongoing ridiculous crush on said boyfriend's brother?" Twinkling blue eyes winked at him as a mischievous smirk spread across the girl's face. "I think us girls are _long_ overdue for a shopping trip, especially with prom coming up, don't you?"

"That's my girl," Enzo grinned back at her as she hugged him. Turning around and raising her fingers in a little wave goodbye, Caroline sped toward her car and Enzo could almost see the wheels spinning in her head as she planned.

* * *

Walking into Damon's room, Enzo was entirely unsurprised to see about half the room a complete mess, overturned chairs and shards of glass and the broken remains of various objects littering the ground. Damon himself was buried under a mountain of blankets, his raven black hair falling across the pillow. The younger vampire would have smiled at the sight had he not known of the episode that must have preceded it. Sitting down on the edge if the bed, Enzo lightly ran his fingers through Damon's hair, pulling the blanket back slightly and noting how the pained expression that covered his features faded away and was replaced by a small smile.

Soon enough though, Damon's face was contorted in pain and his eyes snapped open. In a flash Enzo found himself pinned to the wall, unseeing blue eyes clouded with rage, searching for something only Damon himself could see. _"Where's my brother?"_ The elder Salvatore all but growled. So it was one of _those_ dreams then. For someone still in the throes of a nightmare, Damon was incredibly strong and it was actually rather difficult to wrest himself away. It was times like these when he was reminded how powerful the raven haired vampire really was and how much he truly held back. Enzo couldn't quite say that the reminder was a particularly pleasant one in such a situation.

Sweat beaded on Damon's forehead and he repeated his question, this time, a slight quiver present in his voice. _Well, fuck._ The two words crossed Enzo's mind as he remembered what the quiver meant. His lover was a few steps away from physically hurting himself, under the belief that whatever he had dreamed was his own fault. If the past was any indication, it wouldn't simply be on a small scale either. The last time Damon hadn't been able to get immediate confirmation of his brother being alive and well... memories of blood, so much blood, covering his lover, spilling from numerous cuts across his arms, across the panes of his stomach flashed through Enzo's mind and without thinking for even a second about the inevitable backlash of his actions now, he threw open the door and yelled for Stefan to get his ass upstairs immediately. He hoped the younger Salvatore would be able to handle the situation without triggering Damon any further but at this point he was just looking to calm the other vampire. Family issues could come later.

As Stefan sped into the room, he was practically tackled by Damon, the elder holding him close for a long moment, hand clutching the nape of his neck, long arms practically engulfing him in a strong embrace, the elder's eyes clearing slightly but not completely as he pulled back. Gripping his brother tight by the shoulders, Damon slowly came back to himself as he assured himself that his brother was alright. Shaking his head to clear it, Damon once again pulled Stefan into a hug, resting his head atop his brother's as he exhaled deeply.

"I already killed Lexi, right?" His voice was barely above a murmur but Stefan still stiffened upon hearing his brother's question. Lexi had been his friend and he didn't think he had ever completely forgiven Damon for killing her even though he had eventually accepted that the reasons for doing so went beyond what was obvious to him. He looked at Enzo in confusion as Damon continued to speak, evidently to himself, the elder lost in his own thoughts and fears. "Good, because no one is ever shooting at you again. No more wars for you little brother, not unless I'm there too. No one is allowed to send you so far away from me again, especially not someone who thinks its better if I'm kept away from you. The only people who have the right to make that decision are me and you, not some bitch who only succeeded in worsening your problems." Clear blue eyes met green and Stefan realised Damon meant every word he had just said. Before he could think of a reply though, even if he could have, his brother took a step back, shaking his head before speeding over to Enzo and grabbing the bottle of bourbon the younger vampire was already holding out. He didn't bother with picking up a glass, simply raised it to his lips and drank. Darkened eyes glittering with some unidentifiable emotion, he grinned. "So Enzo, who do we get to watch being blown up today?"

The vampire in question sighed as he held up a disc. "Not sure yet but the Lannisters have a knack for unusual methods. Stefan, get the popcorn ready, would you?" Noticing the way Damon was practically cradling the bourbon, he held back another sigh before turning to the younger Salvatore. "While you're at it, get another bottle too. He'll need it."

* * *

Well, Stefan noted, Enzo certainly hadn't been wrong about needing more alcohol. Damon was on his third bottle and already about a quarter of the way through it. His brother would go through various phases and emotions, often within the span of a few minutes, shifting from confused to afraid to angry to adorable. Occasionally he would return to the sarcastic version of himself that Stefan was far more familiar with but, more often than not, he simply wanted to cuddle while watching loud action movies. It was... unusual, but Stefan would be lying if he said unwelcome.

He smiled to himself as he made popcorn, thinking of the adorable way that Damon had wrapped himself around the both of them, nuzzling into Enzo's neck. There hadn't been another episode like that of the one in the morning, but often a haunted look would enter Damon's eyes and he would cling all the more tightly to either Enzo or himself. At some point Enzo had switched to watching some ridiculous chick flick which Stefan couldn't even remember, having been too busy noting and absorbing the changes in his brother. While watching, Damon somehow ended up with his head in Stefan's lap, throwing popcorn at the screen and Stefan just stopped questioning everything by then.

He was brought out of his thoughts abruptly by the sound of his cellphone buzzing with the an incoming message. Somehow, he wasn't too surprised to see that it was Enzo demanding coffee. He was tempted for a moment not to make it but decided to take pity on the other. Balancing two bowls of popcorn and coffee wasn't particularly easy but he managed to carry it all without dropping or spilling anything, a feat Stefan was actually rather proud of.

He entered the room to find Damon sleeping, his head tucked in the space between Enzo's neck and shoulder, the younger carding his fingers through Damon's hair. The brown haired vampire looked up as he entered, free hand already reaching out for the coffee and Stefan could see how tired he really was. Enzo continued to play with Damon's hair as he sipped his coffee and the two sat in silence for a few minutes.

"I'm actually not entirely surprised that you've never encountered him like this," Enzo began softly. "His control is usually impeccable and sometimes he can go for years without having a single bad day. Other times he can have three in one week."

Stefan nodded, absorbing this information. It was rare that Enzo volunteered any information whatsoever, especially when it concerned Damon, so he hung onto every word when he did. "What triggers it?" He asked.

Enzo shrugged helplessly. "It just builds up till he can't hold it back anymore. It's more than just what they did to us during our time as Augustines, more then any one event and then he needs to reassure himself that neither you nor I are hurt or dead."

"And if he can't?"

Enzo's eyes looked haunted and Stefan almost wished he hadn't asked as the other visibly swallowed harshly. "You thank whatever god there is out there that he's a vampire with a knack for survival despite the odds and be glad he's divided his attentions between the two of us because that means he still has someone to live for."

* * *

Damon's eyes fluttered open as Stefan left the room to answer a call from Elena. He groaned, nuzzling further into Enzo's neck, pressing small kisses onto his shoulder. "Where did Steffy go? He was _warm_."

"Elena called." Enzo said, chuckling softly at the disgruntled tone of Damon's voice. The raven haired vampire frowned and muttered something that sounded like 'I'm going to break both their phones with a goddamn hammer.' Enzo proceeded to take that declaration with a pinch of salt. Well, until Stefan's agitated voice could be heard through the shut door. Damon lifted his head off Enzo's shoulder immediately, brow furrowing in annoyance as he glared in the direction of the door.

Enzo was entirely unsurprised to see Damon get up as his younger brother's voice steadily rose in frustration. In a flash the older vampire was out the door and in the hallway and Stefan was abruptly cut off, the split silence followed by Damon telling Elena to stop being a _'whiny, clingy bitch for just one day,'_ a statement that preceded a loud crack and a complaining Stefan. The elder Salvatore then proceeded to drag his younger brother into the room while he continued to protest the loss of his phone and sit him down on the sofa. He curled up next to him and began gently petting him as one would a small child, blue eyes angry as he muttered something about Elena being ridiculous and always expecting too much and how Stefan should stop complaining because not only could he easily just get a new phone, but at least this way Elena wouldn't bother him for a while. While originally sitting ramrod straight and very confused at his older brother's behaviour, Stefan eventually relaxed into his embrace and let Damon do whatever he was doing as Enzo laughed in the background, even though the younger vampire continued to complain about his shattered phone.

"Stop whining, baby bro! You _could_ be assaulting your ears with Elena's voice right now, instead, you get to enjoy our company."

"I actually happened to _like_ that phone, Damon! Did you really have to _break_ it?"

"She would have continued to call. Do I _look_ like I want to suffer through your annoying ringtone twenty seven times? _No_? I thought so." Damon retorted as Stefan sighed, giving it up as the lost cause that it was. He supposed that he'd just have to emotionally blackmail Damon into buying him another. Knowing his brother, however, Stefan suspected that he would end up with a hideously pink phone with unicorns all over it.


	12. Chapter 12

**Yes, surprisingly enough, I am alive, who would have thought? So apparently stress makes my creative juices get their shit together, guess I have exams and procrastination to thank for that. Yay. So anyway, halfway through writing this chapter I got bored of the fact that I was basically writing a whiny, broody, annoying version of these characters, I'm sure you'll understand when you reach it. Basically I realised I was writing for the sake of writing so I've left it at a point where quite honestly I feel like it wouldn't matter if I left it or continued. Either way, read, review or you _definitely_ won't be getting any new chapters because I need constant validation and, most importantly, enjoy! **

**PS this continues where the last chapter left off so if you don't remember I suggest you refresh your memory :)**

* * *

Stefan realised over the course of the following week what Enzo had meant when he said that although Damon could go for years without having bad days, he might end up having three in a row at a time. Only this time it wasn't just three days but approximately the entire week. It was terrifying to wake up to his brother destroying his room because of some memory that had resurfaced and upset him. Terrifying to realise that he might lose his brother to the confines of his own mind, when his blue eyes clouded over and he would retreat to some deep recess of his own mind where Stefan couldn't follow him even if he tried.

He didn't know how Enzo was dealing with this, how every time Damon lost it, the younger vampire would calmly either sit beside him or cuddle with him and provide soothing words that would pull him slowly out of the darkness. And Stefan remembered that Enzo had done this for years, had dealt with his brother like this so many times while he himself had no idea that Damon suffered like this. So he did what he could, did whatever Enzo asked him too and did his best to be there for the both of them.

Nights were the worst, when nightmares plagued him and Damon would wake up screaming and Enzo would simply either ask him to make some hot chocolate or make it himself depending on who was the subject of the nightmare, a tired smile on his face as he curled cold fingers around the warm ceramic mugs while sitting Damon down in front of the fireplace. The haunted look in those cerulean eyes never truly leaving, even during the day.

During those five days, Stefan had only seen Damon consume blood twice, both times fighting to keep it down and both times because he and Enzo had begged him to. Caroline dropped by again with supplies because Enzo refused to leave the house, being in possession of a still working brain and Damon freaked out when Stefan left. Neither Stefan nor Enzo had ever loved Caroline more when the blonde showed up unannounced with popcorn and chocolate and at least three different genres of movies and TV shows.

"I don't know whats wrong and I'm pretty sure Damon would kill all three of us if you told me but this stuff makes me happy when I'm either sick or sad so there you go. Bonnie and I will keep Elena busy so she doesn't show up here either. Also, this never happened and I'm actually studying right now if anyone, and I mean _anyone_ , asks." Caroline was perfectly serious as she looked at Enzo and Stefan, both of whom nodded solemnly as one. At that moment, if she'd have asked, they probably would have given her the moon.

* * *

"Mate, for the record, I am _never_ leaving Damon alone with you lot ever again," Enzo declared to Stefan as he downed another shot of whiskey. It was past three in the morning and Damon had just fallen back asleep. The two of them were sitting in the kitchen and, well, bonding was a strong word for what they were doing, but it wasn't entirely inaccurate.

"Hey, this isn't all on me, this _town_ is just incredibly messed up." Stefan's protests were replied to with a glare from Enzo as the other vampire picked up the bottle of whisky and poured himself another shot.

"Darling, as 'messed up' as this town might be, he's not dreaming of it being blown up unless its him razing it to the ground. So for fuck's sake, do me a favour and stop nearly getting killed? Thank you."

* * *

The morning of the sixth day, Enzo woke up to an entirely lucid Damon sitting on the edge of their shared bed, slender fingers playing with a loose thread at the hem of his shirt. He reached a hand out toward his lover, now more worried than ever. As awful as the past few days may have been, the aftermath had the potential to be so much worse. But Damon didn't stop him as his fingers toyed with the damp raven hair at the nape of his neck. He simply sat there, shoulders hunched as Enzo curled himself around him, placing small kisses on his neck.

"How long?" When Damon finally spoke, it was two words and in a voice hoarse from the screams that had so often ripped themselves from his throat in the past week.

Enzo pulled himself away from Damon's neck, sighing softly. "Five days."

The older vampire swallowed harshly, nodding. "I presume Steffy stayed through all of it, knowing him." His hand curled into a fist as Enzo nodded. "He was never supposed to see me like that."

"But he did. So are you going to deal with it or do we need to disappear until your brother forgets about the fact that you possess a working heart and conscience?" Damon glared at Enzo, the look only intensifying as he realised how serious his lover was.

"Do I have a choice either way?"

"Just offered you one. Stay or leave, but I can't promise I won't snap your neck once if you decide we're leaving." Damon was silent for a moment and Enzo could practically see him coming to the decision to leave when the door burst open and Stefan rushed in.

The younger Salvatore looked scared, truly, genuinely panicked, hair tousled and eyes wide. "You're not leaving, Damon. You're not leaving me again, not like this."

"Steffy, goddammit, give me _one_ good reason to stay." Damon sounded as exasperated as Enzo felt, running slender fingers through his hair in frustration.

"I'm here," came the instantaneous reply. "Also, I'd trash this place within, like, a week because of, I don't know, Caroline wanting to throw a party or something or because of whoever is the nuisance of the week and no one would clean it up besides you because no one else really gives two shits about how this place except for you. Also, for the record, I'd give it about three weeks before Klaus or someone else pisses me off enough to go rogue and become a ripper again."

Damon scoffed at that last one, dismissing it easily. "Get Elena or Caroline to monitor your blood intake, it'll be fine - probably."

It was Stefan's turn to scoff in disbelief. "Besides yourself and occasionally Lexi, who _else_ have I actually listened to when it comes to my blood intake? You're either staying or I'm going with you."

Damon looked up at that, staring hard at his brother. "Why? You have a _life_ here. I hate this town, every brick in every wall, every goddamn grave in the ground and just about every single inhabitant."

Stefan rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath about dramatic brothers. "Suck it up and deal big brother, you're stuck with me for a _very_ long time. Besides, in a couple months Elena will be going off to college and I've no intention of repeating _that_ hell when I don't have to. High school was more than enough." He gave an exaggerated shudder that brought a smile to Damon's lips. Stefan's own lips curved up when he saw it and he continued, "I was thinking we should go to Italy. I hear its very nice this time of year and I've never been."

Enzo gasped dramatically, placing a hand against his chest in mock horror. "You've lived nearly two centuries and haven't been to _Italy_? Damon we have a duty by this poor damned soul that we must fulfill. Stefan, pack your bags, I'll book the tickets." He rose from the bed and grabbed his laptop before turning to face the younger Salvatore. "Wait, you're still legally seventeen, right?" At Stefan's apologetic nod Enzo sighed and turned to a speechless Damon. "You're his legal guardian, get to work. We're leaving by the end of the week and I don't want anything that could cause problems when we're finally leaving this damned town. Ok, go!" He motioned with his free hand at the stunned brothers, smirking as they rushed out of the room and outright laughing when Damon poked his head in the door not a minute later.

"What exactly am I supposed to do as Steffy's legal guardian again?"

* * *

"Wait, so you're just... _leaving_? Like _that_?" Caroline snapped her fingers together to accentuate her point and obvious dismay. Enzo took another sip of his drink, sighing as he attempted to explain.

"It's hardly just like _that_ , love. You lot will be going off to college in a couple months and there is honestly very little I want more than to get out of this town. Between you and me, when a town is as toxic as this one, it's better to give it some time and space. We're vampires after all, we've got nothing but time!"

"But I won't get to see you for _ages_! And what if you get in trouble? You'll need help or something or be in danger and I won't know-"

Stefan cut Caroline off before she could freak out even more, raising a rose pink phone, the back covered in hipster quotes and, yes, a _very_ colourful and _very_ fierce looking unicorn. "You'll be going to college, we won't see each other for a long time anyway. Besides, don't worry, we'll keep in touch, I promise." Caroline did her best to stifle her giggles at Stefan's new phone, courtesy of Damon who had specially ordered it, while Enzo muttered something to the effect of 'we'll keep in touch as long as female Gilbert doesn't blow up phones with a thousand calls.' In which case, Stefan was sure, Damon would more than happily smash his phone again.

Speaking of Elena, the doppelganger herself walked through the door of the Mystic Grill, features clearly displaying how upset she was. Upon catching sight of the three vampires, her scowl deepened and she stomped over. "Stefan, did I do something wrong?" She didn't bother with pleasantries and the three sitting down simply looked at her in confusion as she repeated her question. Stefan shook his head in response and her face crumpled and voice rose to a higher pitch. "Then why are you ignoring my calls? I've tried calling you like, three times already today!"

Enzo smirked while Stefan looked at his phone in confusion. "I haven't received a single call Elena." Caroline corroborated his statement but Elena just got more upset, arguing loudly with him until, all of a sudden Stefan turned to Enzo, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Did Damon block Elena's number on my phone?"

"Of course not! He _deleted_ her number and _I_ blocked it." Enzo patted Stefan on the shoulder comfortingly. "We have your best interests at our undead hearts, honest!"

Elena had looked on in disbelief for long enough, losing her patience as Stefan scoffed, clearly amused as he threw a playful jibe back at Enzo in response. How _dare_ someone try and control _her_ relationship with her boyfriend? Enzo had already taken one Salvatore from her, she refused to let the other go without a fight. Cheeks flaming with indignation at the insult, she drew her hand back and brought it down to slap Enzo before her enraged mind could even consider the fallout.

To her surprise it was Caroline who caught her arm before it reached the other vampire, the blonde's fingers curling around her wrist, sharp nails digging into soft skin. "How about _not_ provoking someone stronger than you and more likely to rip your head off and instead working on unblocking your number on Stefan's phone?" The female vampire's voice was soft, yet there was no mistaking the undeniable command in it. Elena responded with a weak glare, gasping as Caroline dug her nails deeper into her arm, the pain prompting her to agree, albeit grudgingly.

"Excellent!" Caroline exclaimed as she let go of Elena's arm. "Enzo, you're with me. You have an _amazing_ taste when it comes to clothes and you _totally_ owe me some cute outfits after this bombshell. Also, there are these absolutely _gorgeous_ pair of boots that I've had my eyes on for a quite a while now. Stefan can join us later and we can discuss how you're going to stay in contact without me tracking you down every two weeks." Jumping up from her seat, Caroline pulled Enzo up as well, proceeding to drag him with her, throwing a wave and a bright, cheery goodbye over her shoulder as they left. The second they exited the doors, however, her bright smile faded a little as she turned to face the other vampire. "Maybe it _will_ be good for you to leave for a while." She glanced in the direction of the grill, face easily displaying her concern for all of a minute before she pulled on that bright smile again and told Enzo to hurry up before all the good shops close.

* * *

To say Elena had been upset at their impending departure was understatement. She had been ignoring Stefan for the past few days and glaring at Enzo and Damon every time she saw them as if they were to blame. Their amusement at her anger only proceeded to provoke her even further and Stefan had come home at least twice to her screaming at his brother about his selfishness in 'forcing Stefan to go when he didn't want to,' an idea which left Damon in fits of laughter every time it was brought up.

On the plus side, Caroline at least was being very supportive. She insisted on helping in any manner she could, at one point even repacking Stefan's suitcase because, "it was an absolute mess" and he should be "ashamed of being over a hundred years old and still unable to pack decently." Since it was Caroline, a force of nature in and of herself, Stefan didn't bother much beyond the token protest and let her do as she pleased. She even managed to get a copy of the keys to the boarding house, 'just in case' although it was not without a long warning from Damon.

"First rule, no parties in here without my express permission. _Yes_ , I will stay in touch so you can ask, _no_ you cannot get into my alcohol. Well," the elder Salvatore began, mulling over the thought for a moment before amending his statement. "You can't touch the bourbon. The rest is fair game but only to you and only if you need it and not for some dumb party. Second, this is reserved as a _safe house_ while I'm gone. Nothing more, nothing less. Understand?"

The blonde didn't roll her eyes just yet but she was close to it as she accepted Damon's rules. Instead, she reached her hand out for the keys, grinning widely as they were dropped into her outstretched hand with a sigh that she promptly ignored. Stefan grinned and then shuddered at the thought of what she might do to the house. At least his brother's reaction would be worth seeing once she was done.

* * *

Surprisingly enough, there was no irritant of the week to stop them from leaving, although, Damon supposed, the last time it had been Stefan with his puppy eyes and hero hair to stop them. This time it was simply Caroline and Bonnie waving them off as he pulled the car out of the driveway, Liz having come earlier to wish them goodbye. Elena had stayed the night, hoping to convince Stefan to stay. She had stormed off earlier this morning and Damon honestly couldn't say he missed her presence. Enzo turned up the music as they left Mystic Falls behind them and Stefan was grinning as he sipped slowly on a blood-bag and asked where they were going.

"Wherever the hell you want, Lil bro. I was thinking Europe first, what do you think?"

* * *

They _did_ end up going to Europe and, alright, he had to admit, Rome had its charm. Stefan had honestly no idea why he didn't travel much outside America during his 160 plus years. Doing all sorts of touristic activities was fun. It also helped that Damon and Enzo knew all sorts of interesting markets and cafés and the occasional historic sites that weren't well known and/or hidden within the depths of European cities.

Before he and Elena decided to take a break because the long distance thing wasn't really working out, he'd send her little trinkets that he'd find at these places. While he'd still send the occasional trinket, contact with her fell to a minimum and somehow, he found that he didn't mind too much when Damon stole his phone for the hundredth time to change his ringtone and block Elena's number. It just gave him an excuse to start a three-way prank war. He might also have still kept the pink phone Damon had gotten him and not bothered to replace it when it broke, choosing instead to fix it. What could he say? It was annoyingly endearing.

* * *

"How's that class coming along? The one with the awful professor?" Enzo asked Caroline. It had been a little over half a year since they had left Mystic Falls in the rear view mirror and he could not be happier about it.

The blonde vampire on the other end of the line huffed angrily and began her rant against her professor. "I am _so_ glad I won't have him next semester! He's _awful!_ It's as if he thinks we aren't _human_ or something!"

Enzo chuckled at that, "Caroline, I'm not sure if you've realised this, but you're not exactly a human anymore."

"I'm not a robot _either_!" She complained. "I've done more calculus in the past month than I ever did my whole life! Stupid college requirements." She grumbled. Cheering up, "on the plus side, I get extra credits and my other classes are amazing! Also, I have a _gorgeous_ view from my dorm." It took half a minute before he received pictorial evidence and Enzo had to agree. The view _was_ pretty great. Caroline continued to chatter, telling him bits and pieces of random experiences she had had over the week, small anecdotes that left him grinning. "Can you guys make it back in time for Christmas?" Came the sudden question. Before Enzo could answer with a resounding _no, not if he could help it_ , Caroline continued quickly. "Because I just thought it would be nice for us all to be together for a couple days and I mean, its _Christmas_ and I was thinking that maybe we could have a small party at the boarding house, get into Damon's booze and just- it would be nice to see you all in person again."

The girl knew how to emotionally blackmail a guy, Enzo had to give it to her. But still, "maybe next year," he found himself saying. _God_ , he could already picture the way her face must have fallen. Dammit.

"I still get to plan the party, right?" Was the reply after a moment's silence." Enzo agreed with a sigh and immediately moved the phone away from his ear at the following squeal of delight. Well, he couldn't say things weren't ever interesting in small towns. At least, not when Caroline Forbes was involved.

* * *

Caroline smirked as she ended the call with Enzo. Christmas presents this year would be to die for. It took five minutes to arrange a meet up with Bonnie for the weekend for some girl time and another five to inform her mother that she would be planning the party this year and to keep her schedule free. She could needle Stefan over the phone tomorrow. Convincing him to work on getting Damon and Enzo over for the vacations would be a piece of cake.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys! Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate it! I'm not one hundred percent happy with this chapter but I really wanted it out in time for Christmas so I hope you enjoy it because at this point I feel like I can't do much better but I will come back and fix it as much as I can later. Happy holidays! Read, review and enjoy! :)**

 **For the record, I have never celebrated Christmas, I am not a Christian and all I know about it is from books and movies. I'm sorry if that shows and reflects badly.**

* * *

Caroline bit her lip excitedly as she surveyed the room one last time. She _might_ have gone a _little_ overboard, but it was _perfect_! She couldn't wait to see the other's reactions when they saw this! Speaking of- A car engine could be heard as it pulled up to the driveway and Caroline squealed in anticipation before rushing outside to meet them.

The first to exit the car, Stefan found himself with an arm full of blonde vampire as Caroline practically threw herself on him, wrapping him up in a tight hug. "I'm so glad you could come back for Christmas, I missed you so much!"

"Blame Steffy here," Damon said with a grin as he got out. "Wouldn't shut up about how important it was to keep in touch with everyone back here. That's what we have cellphones and freaking technology for but who listens to me?" The smile directed towards Caroline, however, assured her that he would only be here if he wanted to and not otherwise, no matter what Stefan did to convince him.

"Ah, stop whining Damon. Its not as if we have anything better to do. Caroline, I trust you took care of the house? Pack mother Damon here would be very upset if things were put out of order while we were away," Enzo said, sniggering.

Caroline's hand tightened around Stefan's arm as she smiled brightly, leading them towards the house. "I might have decorated the place a little bit for Christmas," she said excitedly and Damon exhaled sharply before following her inside. Oh, this was going to interesting.

* * *

"What. Did. You. Do?" Stefan and Enzo were speechless, mouths agape as they took in the sight of the house while Damon fixed Caroline with a hard look as he adjusted to the change.

Vines were wrapped around the stair bannisters, sprigs of mistletoe hung in seemingly random places. In the corner by the fireplace, a large tree made itself known, covered in trinkets, some of which Stefan recognised as ones he had sent Caroline, tinsel and lights. Atop it was a blood red star and small pine needles littered the ground around it upon which some brightly wrapped boxes lay, each one artfully placed. The blonde vampire had even gone so far as to hang up four stockings, something Stefan took note of with no small degree of amusement seeing as how each of the four had some reference to vampires. Instead of candycanes, they were adorned with fangs. All in all, the room looked like something out of an old Christmas movie and smelled like it too, the scent of pine making itself known throughout the house.

Enzo swooped up the blonde for a hug, erasing the worried look from her face immediately. "It's amazing Caroline, I love it." Stefan chimed in his agreement and they all turned to Damon, Caroline biting her lip in worry and the other two with raised eyebrows of expectation.

"It looks pretty good, Blondy," he conceded, lips spreading in a smile as his statement was punctuated by a loud squeal of delight from Caroline.

* * *

They were just settling down, bags deposited in their respective rooms, when Caroline's voice floated up from the kitchen. "You better start getting ready soon, the party's gonna start in a couple hours!"

Damon's head shot up to look at Enzo, a snarl half formed on his lips. "I swear to god if she means that she organised a party at my house the day we came back, someone is gonna get staked."

Stefan's voice came from the other room at that exact moment as if in response to Damon's declaration. "It's Christmas brother, you're not allowed to stake or kill anybody!" The elder Salvatore simply made a face in the direction of his brother's room.

"This is why I'm the fun brother." He told Enzo who simply grinned.

* * *

The first to arrive was Liz, the sherrif looking radiant in a purple dress as she hugged them. Bonnie and Matt arrived together, the witch dressed in an elegant black lace dress. Tyler and Jeremy also showed up together, a small hickey marking the latter's neck very visibly even though all present ignored it, with the exception of Damon who smirked once and let it go.

"Did she say whether she was coming?" Caroline asked her friend in a low voice as she poured drinks for everyone.

"She said if she did, and I'm paraphrasing here, that she'd be dragging along that med student she calls a boyfriend." Bonnie replied in an equally low voice, with a tight lipped smile. It wasn't exactly low enough, seeing as they were in a house full of vampires and it took barely a moment for Enzo to excuse himself and be by their side.

"Female Gilbert will be making an appearance?"

"It's not like I couldn't _not_ invite her!" Caroline defended herself. "She's still my friend even if she's not the same person anymore! Or even not very likeable either." The last part was muttered but both listeners still caught it and agreed wholeheartedly even if they didn't comment.

"In that case, I suppose it's time to pull out the hard stuff," Enzo said instead as he proceeded to drizzle a healthy amount of bourbon in two glasses of eggnog and whisky in a third. "What's your choice of poison?" He asked the girls who, with a single look at each other pointed to the bottle they wanted as one. "Good choices," Enzo said approvingly. "At least dinner will be slightly less awkward."

Elena turned up half and hour later, awkward boyfriend in tow. To say it made for stilted conversation was an understatement at best. The med student was actually quite nice and warming up to him wasn't too hard a task. Dealing with Elena, however, was another thing entirely. Damon didn't even bother, simply picking up a bottle of boubon from the table and taking a healthy swig from it.

"My brother says I have to be nice," he told her boyfriend as he shook his hand, squeezing perhaps a little too hard. "Personally, I normally wouldn't give a damn but Caroline wants the perfect party for once so I won't be threatening anyone tonight. Let's call it one of her Christmas presents, shall we? God knows she deserves it after all we put her through. Elena," he nodded once in her direction, released the boy's hand and moved away. It could have been worse.

* * *

Caroline had really outdone herself with the dinner, enlisting Damon and Stefan's help at the last moment and Liz had even brought desert. Even the awkwardness provided in such abundance by Elena couldn't stem the gaiety too much. All in all, it was the most perfect Christmas Eve they'd had in a while.

* * *

"What, you waiting for Santa or something?" Enzo asked Caroline as he noticed her curled up alone on the sofa by the fireplace, lost in thought. Blonde curls bounced as she lifted her head, fingers tightening around the mug she held in her hands. Everyone had left a while back and the boarding house seemed a little empty. Still though, warmth seeped into the older vampire as he looked around the place, decorated as it was, it felt like home.

"Santa already came," Caroline indicated toward the tree, grinning widely. "For someone who claims to hate coming back, Damon sure brought a lot of presents." There were quite a few more boxes filling up the space underneath the tree, most of which were haphazardly wrapped in tacky Christmas themed paper.

It didn't take much prompting from Caroline before Enzo sat down on the sofa beside her, telling her of their exploits in the past few months. They didn't notice the hours pass as they sat there by the dying embers regaling each other with tales of past adventures and misadventures.

Damon found them the next morning sleeping soundly, Caroline's feet gloved in fluffy socks as expected, resting in Enzo's lap, arms thrown over one side and hanging off the other, fingers brushing the carpet, half filled mugs of hot chocolate now cold, tucked into the corners of the sofa, long forgotten.

It didn't take much to gather the mugs and throw a blanket over them before going to the kitchen and start brewing a fresh batch of coffee. He washed the mugs as the coffee brewed, grinning as a sleepy Stefan stumbled into the kitchen, hair tousled, still in his pajamas as he made a confused gesture in the direction of the other two vampires.

"They stayed up late talking." Damon explained as he pushed Stefan onto a chair and put a mug of coffee spiked with blood in front of him. "Let them sleep for a bit longer. If they're not awake till breakfast is made, we're jumping on them."

Seeing as how it hardly took fifteen minutes for Damon to whip up a large stack of pancakes on a good day, the two Salvatores went all out for breakfast. A pot of hot chocolate made its way onto the stove while Stefan cut up vegetables for an omelette and Damon made scrambled eggs. He might also have made an extra large stack of blueberry and chocolate pancakes but hey, Stefan was *not gonna be able to look his brother in the eye and tell him it was probably overkill. For one, it was Christmas, for another, he preferred a life without emotional blackmail, thank you very much. In forty five minutes, four trays were stacked with food and being carried out into the lounge where they were placed on the table.

Unfortunately for them, Enzo and Caroline were still somehow soundly sleeping. Damon then proceeded to actually jump on them while Stefan took a video from a safe distance. The younger Salvatore valued life, period. The elder, however, was busy landing on Caroline's legs which were entangled with Enzo's. Suffice it to say, it was not a pleasant wake up call. Enzo woke up with a shout, black veins rippling under his skin as he snarled at Damon in annoyance while Caroline simply kicked at him, muttering death threats to some female named Abigail if she did that again. Evidently, university life had not been treating the blonde very well in some areas.

She didn't wake up, in fact, until Stefan waved a mug of coffee in front of her face, blue eyes opening the second its strong smell wafted up to her nose, hand shooting out to wrap cold fingers around the ceramic handle and down it in one go. "What?" She asked, looking around up to see amused expressions on the other's faces. "I'm a university student, what did you expect?"

"Nothing this drastic, now move over," Damon told her as he sat down, curling up on the sofa in between them, sides pressed up against both her and Enzo. Stefan sat down on Caroline's other side and she wasted no time in tucking her feet underneath his legs, turning so she was leaning against Damon, her curls spilling over onto his shoulder and tickling his neck, tray of food precariously balanced on her lap as she ate.

Breakfast was a delightful affair with all parties present complaining often and loudly that they didn't have such and such food and someone else pushing a large bite against their lips to shut them up.

Finally, food finished, lips sticky with maple syrup from the pancakes after Caroline complained it was inhuman to consume pancakes without it and hunger sated (Damon and Stefan were well aware they catering to vampires and proceeded to generously spike the coffee with blood), the trays were placed on the ground because, "the table is so _far_ Damon! I don't know about you, but I'm too comfortable to even _think_ of getting up right now." Caroline whined with a shameless grin once the elder acquiesced with a sigh. Moving any part of their bodies not required for making conversation was out of the question entirely out of the question until finally, by eleven thirty, Enzo asked if they had any intention of opening the presents.

It took exactly thirty seconds for Caroline to process that it was Christmas Day and that meant presents and that meant- "get up, get up, get up!" She pulled them all up off the couch and dumped them in front of the tree, producing a santa hat out of literally no where that any of the males could tell, before pulling it over her blonde curls. Damon and Enzo sprawled over the carpet, Enzo's head in Damon's lap as the latter carded his fingers through the former's brown hair. Stefan propped himself up with a few cusions, arms braced behind him as Caroline distributed the presents before curling up like a cat next to him. Her excitement was palpable and contagious and the others found themselves grinning alongside her as they took turns opening presents, fresh mugs of steaming hot chocolate near them.

* * *

"Do you have to leave so soon?" Caroline whined as the boys dumped their bags in the car.

"Caroline," Stefan began, lips quirking up in a grin, "we stayed two whole weeks and besides, you have university anyway. What, are we supposed to just sit around looking pretty while you go to class?"

"Yes!" She exclaimed petulantly. Enzo just looked at her and she sighed. "Fine! Leave me to my misery! But you have to send a lot of pictures and stuff and come back during spring break, ok?"

"No promises but we'll see." Damon injected as came out with the last bag, pulling her in for a one-armed hug, uncharacteristically pressing a small kiss to the top of her head. "Take care of the house and yourself and make sure no asshole comes through town and fucks shit up for your mom. Only we're allowed to do that." Caroline nodded and hugged the other two as well. "Oh and you're still not allowed to have parties here without my permission." The elder added as an afterthought and a laugh escaped Caroline's lips involuntarily.

"What if it's an emergency?" She teased. "You wouldn't grudge me _one_ little party would you?"

"I absolutely would," he told her with a straight face and laughed as she pouted. "But these two would have my head so I suppose you can have your one little party." She squealed and engulfed him in another hug.

Soon enough, Caroline was waving goodbye as they pulled out of the driveway and turned on the radio, Christmas songs still playing merrily. And once again, they left Mystic Falls in the background.

* * *

"Hey Damon? A situation kind of came up here. We dealt with it but you might wanna come back for a bit. There's um, there's someone who wants to see you." Caroline's voice was shaky, something that was more than obvious on the voice mail and Damon cursed the fact that he hadn't been able to answer the phone. Damn wolves. Stefan and Enzo had simlar messages on their phones along with a couple texts. He supposed they could spare a week to see what had freaked out Caroline so much.


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok you can blame this on Dare to be Something More. She has a way of motivating me through reviews that little else has been able to do. The first 2 portions of this were written because of that review, I honestly would not have thought of writing it otherwise. See the power that reviews have on me? Its been literally 2 days since I last updated and in that time I've written more than 3000 words.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter and leave a review on your way out!**

 **(Disclaimer: I can't promise to wring out another chapter as fast as this one.)**

* * *

For the record, the wolves in New Zealand were _not_ open to even the idea of vampires passing by, let alone staying a week. They were possibly more territorial than any of the other wolves the boys had encountered and that was saying something. Still though, it had been their mistake for not realising that there would be a full moon that week and tensions would already be running high. The bite was overkill though, Stefan thought as he looked at his forearm. There was a sizeable chunk of his arm missing, a large angry bite that was rather obvious if his sleeve was rolled up even a little, the skin around it red and irritated. It was defintely an overreaction based on the fact that not only were they unaware of any wolves even _being_ in New Zealand, but a simple warning would have sufficed. Wolves could be rational and quite friendly too, the ones in Greece more than proved that. Unfortunately, it appeared that the wolves here didn't subscribe to the same doctrine of live and let live but instead, kill first and ask questions later. He rubbed the raw red skin around the wound without thinking, only for his hand to be slapped away by Enzo. Stefan could hear Damon in the other room on the phone with Klaus, promising favours, anything at all within reason for a vial or two of that precious, healing blood.

Enzo was muttering something that appeared to alternate between fervent prayers to uncaring gods and death threats as he pressed a damp cloth to the back of Stefan's neck in an attempt to bring down the fever that was starting and ensuring that the younger Salvatore was drinking enough blood to at least delay the effects of the poison currently running through his veins. Stefan wasn't entirely sure who the threats were aimed at seeing as how Enzo and Damon had personally killed at least three of the wolves once one bit Stefan and seriously injured the fourth. Still, he appreciated the sentiment.

He heard a sigh of relief from the other room and both he and Enzo looked up in expectation as Damon entered the room. "Pack." The order was brusque and sudden, Damon's voice hard and Stefan wondered what he had to promise Klaus. He didn't ask then, the look in his brother's eyes clearly indicating that questions would not be welcome at that moment.

"What's the verdict?" Enzo asked, instead and some of the tension in Damon's shoulders fell away at the sound of his voice.

"Steffy, you damn well better still have the key to that apartment of yours in New York. Klaus will meet us there. Something about neutral ground but I am all out of fucks to give right now. I've already booked us a flight." He sped around the room as he spoke, gathering anything that wasn't already packed and lay it out on the bed before stuffing them in a duffle. "Enzo get Stefan to the car please, I'll get the bags and pay for the room." Enzo nodded and stood from where he was kneeling beside Stefan, placing the younger's unhurt arm around his shoulders and supporting him as he stood before speeding out.

* * *

Stefan was in bad shape by the time they reached the apartment and Damon was praying to every god he'd ever heard of that Klaus would keep to his promise and _just fucking be there._ He breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed the door of the apartment was slightly ajar and a voice inside could be heard telling someone that he would return soon enough. They entered to find Klaus perched comfortably on a table, book in his lap and phone to his ear.

Upon seeing them, his eyes widened in surpruse and he breathed a hurried "call you back" to whomever it was on the other side of the call and got up, book forgotten and falling to the floor with a thud. Damon couldn't blame him, Stefan looked like death warmed over, dark circles under his eyes and skin so white it may have belonged to a corpse which his brother most certainly was _not_ , not if he had anything to do with it. The younger Salvatore could barely stand, leaning heavily on Damon as he and Enzo supported his weight. Any later and Damon wasn't entirely sure that Stefan would make it.

"For fuck's sake would it kill you idiots to try _not_ dying for once?" Klaus asked as he bit into his wrist while Damon and Enzo sat Stefan down on a chair.

"Snark later, heal now!" Was Damon's only comment as he ensured that Stefan was still semi lucid at least. Klaus rolled his eyes and moved forward, pressing his wrist against Stefan's lips, wincing when the younger sunk his fangs in and began to drink.

"Not so hard, you dolt. I'm not going anywhere, I promise." His words may have been harsh, but the Orginal's tone was soft as he spoke, free hand reaching out to cup the back of Stefan's head and brace him. Soon enough though, he pulled away, speaking softly but firmly enough to break through the haze of bloodlust the other was in, "alright, that's enough, Stefan." A small whine pulled itself from Stefan's throat but the vampire let go and Enzo lifted him up and sped him to the bedroom, making sure he knew that so much as moving out of bed before he was fully rested would not be appreciated.

Klaus left three vials full of blood on the kitchen counter before pulling on his coat. "Insurance." He said, indicating towards them. "I can't keep flying out every time you nearly get yourselves killed. Remember our deal."

"An extra guardian for your kid when needed and a favour within reason." Damon said, nodding once.

"Within reason leaves a lot to interpretation Damon, remember that when I call." Were Klaus's parting words as he left the apartment.

"If it means I don't have to worry about Steffy dying on me, just about anything is within reason." Damon muttered once Klaus was out of hearing distance. He collapsed in a chair then, placing his head on the counter, arm outstretched and fingers playing with the three vials. Enzo finally came into the kitchen after a few final threats to Stefan should he consider getting up before being fully rested. The brunette ran his fingers over the other's neck as he passed, even the small touch helping to ground them both.

It took Enzo a few minutes to find any alcohol and even then it was whisky. He made a face but pulled it out anyway, grabbing two glasses and putting them on the counter, filling them up and sliding one accross to Damon before sitting down next to him. Lifting his head, Damon took a sip, grimacing and making a disgusted sound once the amber liquid passed his lips. "Trust Stefan to have poor taste." He grumbled even as he took another sip.

"Well, you only just sold your soul for him, I suppose that means he buys the next time we go for drinks?" There was an undercurrent of something unidentifiable in Enzo's voice.

"A single favour is hardly my soul, Enzo." Damon replied with a snort.

"Maybe, but it wasn't the only thing you promised him. Secondly, this is Klaus. Even a single favour could mean a lot." The younger was worried and rightfully so but Damon had just ensured that his brother was gonna live to see another day, he could care less about the consequences right now. Enzo clearly thought otherwise but they had time to argue about this. They had time.

So he knocked back another shot of whiskey and asked Enzo to let it go for now. He did, begrudgingly, but he did. Suddenly alerted to the fact that his phone had been vibrating for a while now, Damon picked it up to see a couple messages and a voice mail from Caroline. He played it on loudspeaker so that Enzo could hear too and cursed at her worried tone once it had played to completion. With the day he had been having, Damon wouldn't hesitate to rip out the heart of anyone that had dared to harm a single hair on her ridiculously curly blonde head. Upon checking his phone, Enzo found he had similar messages and, well, no one got to upset their blonde vampire besides them.

They left once Stefan had recovered enough to travel and they had restocked on necessary supplies (read blood). They could afford to spare a week to deal with the issues plaguing Mystic Falls.

* * *

It was dark by the time they pulled up to the driveway and all three vampires could make out distinct heartbeats inside the house as they got out of the car. Caroline was waiting outside for them and as the excited the vehicle, she stepped forward. Moving past the other two, Caroline threw her arms around Damon's waist, burying her face in his chest, her entire body shaking, voice muffled as she spoke.

Unsure of what to do, Damon just held her, slowly running his fingers through her hair and murmuring soft words of comfort, deciding then and there to hurt, maim or kill, whichever was necessary, whoever caused this. Eventually, he pulled away a little, brushing the hair out of Caroline's face as he asked her what was wrong. She bit her lip before speaking, taking a breath to calm herself down.

"Ok. So you were kinda crap when all this began and I get it was for reasons but you're still technically my sire even if no one remembers that fact and it does make me feel kinda a bit better to hug you when shit goes down. And shit did go down. Like, major maybe we should have called you shit, but Elena and Bonnie didn't see the need and you guys are so much happier when you're away and you already just came for Christmas I couldn't do that to you because I can't really blame you for being happy because you can't be happy in this town ever and even I can see that and feel it because I can only be happy here now when I'm with my mom or with you guys. So I didn't call because you needed the vacation from all our issues. But I needed you guys too and I'm starting to think maybe I should have called just so that you could have been here when it all went down." She was rambling and she knew it, but Caroline couldn't make herself stop. Her arms still loosely encircled Damon's waist and she found herself hugging him again. "It's been a bad couple of weeks," she whispered into his shirt.

She became aware of Enzo and Stefan doing what could only be called lightly petting her hair and rubbing her back in an attempt to comfort her while Damon just held her close. It made her giggle slightly to think of the two petting her like some child or a cat and she finally pulled away, lips curving up into a small smile. "I'm ok now." She said, her voice small. The other's looked at her in concern but she shook her head, curls bouncing with the movement. "Besides, not everything was bad. One thing was very, _very_ good. You can't freak out ok? Because its a _good_ thing and if there was any price to pay, its already been paid by us. Also, um, we might have been using your house as base, I mean, you did say I could use it as a safe house and it was definitely necessary, I promise."

"Explains the heartbeats." Damon said with a shrug. He wasn't about to deny Caroline anything at this point. "As long as no one messed with my room or bourbon. Did you make some new friends?"

"Sort of." Caroline hedged before wincing. "I can't really make any promises about the bourbon though," at Damon's aghast look she hurried to add, "but I don't think you'll mind when you see why! Just, come inside, ok? We can get your things later." She grabbed Enzo and proceeded to drag him to the front door so that she wouldn't have to look at Damon or be fixed with his suspicious look, feeling slightly guilty about the bourbon. She did, after all, know exactly why leaving the bourbon alone was one of his two main rules.

Realising that they wouldn't get any proper answers till they were inside, Damon slammed the still open car door shut and readied himself for a night full of threatening anyone who had a hand in upsetting Caroline to this extent. Stepping inside the house, Bonnie was the first they saw. The witch looked exhausted as if she hadn't been sleeping properly for a long time, dark circles like bruises under her eyes. The way she held herself made it clear that she was running on sheer force of will alone. Well, will and caffeine, as was given away by the half empty mug clutched tightly in her hands. It was a far cry from the girl they had seen only weeks ago at Christmas.

As she caught sight of them, Bonnie breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God, he's been asking about you nonstop." When asked not to play the pronoun game by an irritated Enzo, she grinned, the motion lighting up her whole face. "I have had _literally nothing_ to light up my day this past month. I will play the goddamn pronoun game if I want. Besides, it's just about the only good thing to come out of this last mess. Damon, if you wouldn't mind carrying on to the kitchen? He's in there, trying to find one of your staches of bourbon."

Even with that, it was only after Caroline nodded her agreement that Damon moved. He could hear drawers and cabinets being opened and closed, mild curses following them before exclaiming in delight. As the voice registered, his blood ran cold and he sped into the kitchen, stopping short at the sight that greeted him. A rushing around filled his ears as if he was submerged in water and he stumbled upon entering the kitchen. The man inside turned at the noise, bourbon in hand now unimportant as he set it down on the counter.

"Hey Damon," Alaric said. "It's been a while."

* * *

"I'm calling bullshit." The words were out of Damon's mouth before he'd even realised he'd spoken them. His legs began moving forward, carrying him toward Ric when all he wanted was to run and hide. Because it couldn't be Ric, because Ric was dead, dead, dead. It was as if he no longer had any control over his own body which kept moving forward, his arms swinging out to grab Ric's shirt by the collar and slam him up against the wall. "You're dead, I _saw_ you die, I fucking _buried_ you myself!"

"I _was_ dead." Alaric's simply reply did him no favours, Damon's rage building up at the calm the other was exuding. "Whoever said the afterlife was better is a fucking liar, let me tell you," he continued with a grin as if he wasn't being held up against a wall, nails digging into his skin hard enough to draw blood. "Because it's fucking _boring_. There's a reason all those ghosts in horror movies are pissed as hell and its because they've been sitting around with jack to do while the world goes to shit and they can't do a damn thing-"

"Stop. Please, just _stop_." Damon's voice cracked as he pleaded with Alaric. "You're not real. You're dead and I'm dreaming and soon I'm going to wake up and you'll still be dead." He took a deep, shuddering breath before continuing. "And I'm going to have to deal with that because you're dead and I'm part of the reason why."

Alaric reached out to grip Damon's upper arms, hard enough to bruise, grin having fallen from his face, completely serious now. "I'm real Damon." He squeezed hard and Damon knew that soon bruises in the shape of fingers would be forming on the pale skin underneath his sleeve. "Feel that? I'm as real and alive as you are."

Silver lined Damon's eyes but he refused to let the tears fall, refused to give in and allow himself to believe that it was really his friend standing in front of him. Curling his fingers even more tightly into the soft material of Alaric's shirt collar, the fact that it was one of his shirts that he had left behind before leaving Mystic Falls dimly registering in the back of his mind, he snarled. "Prove it. How do I know you're not something else just wearing his face?"

Ric sighed patiently, "would a shifter know about locker 42? Or how we bonded over bourbon and hunting after all that bullshit went down with my ex? Drinks at the bar every Tuesday night. You're a crap wingmate on purpose for dumb reasons. What shifter would know or care that you're a kinky shit who'll read just about anything as long as it doesn't depict vampires in a ridiculous way-"

He broke off as Damon released his collar and engulfed him in a hug. "It's you, it's really you," the vampire whispered, finally allowing the tears to fall.

Alaric ignored the wetness on his neck, fondly saying instead, "that's what I've been trying to tell you, dumbass."

It was then that Caroline walked in with Stefan and Enzo behind her. "-like I keep telling you, its a good thing, even with all the shit that's gone down. You'll see!" Stefan stopped short when he saw them, a confused "Ric?" escaping his lips.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead, mate?" Enzo asked, equally confused.

"I was," Alaric confirmed. "Now I'm not. I'm sorry, you are?"

"I'm sorry, how rude of me. Lorenzo, my friends call me Enzo."

"Well then, now that Team Badass is back in buisiness," Damon began, picking up the bottle of bourbon that Ric had left on the counter. "All I need to know is who hurt Caroline so that I can kill them and we all can move on with our lives and celebrate."

"Already taken care of," Ric interjected, "I didn't exactly come back human, so I helped deal with the issue." His eyes flashed a pale amber and black veins rippled under his skin and Damon's grip on the bottle loosened involuntarily, blue eyes widening in shock as the glass shattered loudly against the floor, bourbon staining the wood a dark colour as it spread.


	15. Chapter 15

**Um hi? I'm sorry for the delay if any of you are still even reading this. I'm an asshole, something that should be common knowledge by now. Because apparently I can only write when under stress and when I'm 110% done with everything. Fun! Anyway, y'all deserve better and I'm sorry. If you're still interested, drop me a review or yell at me through pm. I'll get my ass in gear for the next chapter.**

 **Oh and the reason I have Damon so upset about Ric being a vamp now is cos he was pretty much forced to turn against his will, I doubt he'd appreciate his best friend being turned without consent too.**

* * *

"Has he stopped destroying his room yet?" Caroline asked Enzo as she walked into the kitchen, dumping her empty mug in the sink and grabbing a blood-bag, leaning against the counter as she sipped. She toyed with the idea of making dinner but ultimately abandoned it, deciding she just didn't have the energy. Enzo was sitting at the table trading stories with Ric while keeping an ear out for loud noises from a certain room upstairs.

"For the moment. Instead, he's broken into his bourbon stache and is on what should be his... third? Ric?" The vampire in question sighed and held up four fingers as he sipped at his coffee mug. Enzo grinned up at Caroline, "my apologies, _fourth_ bottle of the night. I should hope you've stockpiled some blood in the past few months. He should crash soon and if you think normal Damon is difficult to deal with, drunk and/or hungover Damon can be a hell of a lot worse."

"Tell me about it," Alaric said, raising his coffee mug in commiseration as he flashed back to less than pleasant memories of dealing with his best friend. "Definitely makes it into the top five Worst Times to Deal with Damon."

"Don't even get me started," Enzo groaned, shaking his head. "One time while drunk I told him we both seriously needed a therapist. I have _no idea_ where he even _found_ the poor thing from, but the next morning there's this pretty little brunette sitting in our hotel room, compelled and high out of her _mind_ , babbling about the different types of psychopathy and Damon actually _listening,_ perfectly serious and definitely still drunk and a little high, to every word coming out of her mouth." That week alone had been enough to put the both of them off drugs for the most part.

"Please," Ric began, "get back to me when you have to talk him down from his plans of renovating the entire house in order to devote a whole wing to booze and caffeine while at the same time setting you up with the first pretty girl or guy he sees." He pointed a finger in Caroline's direction, "never let him drink a whole bar dry, I swear to God he'll-"

"Pick fights with half the people there and dance with the other half." Enzo cut in, with an exasperated glare that Caroline knew he didn't really mean, aimed at the ceiling, no doubt meant for the vampire in one of the rooms above them, Damon having gone back to destroying what was left of his room if the thuds and scrapes were any indication. It didn't escape anyone's notice how the older vampire's chaos remained confined to that single room. "Did you know," the Brit continued with a grin as he pulled up a memory of one of the older vampire's antics, "he once picked a fight with someone simply because he didn't like the color of his tie? Impeccable sense of fashion, even when drunk halfway to Hell."

The blond vampire burst out laughing at that, almost disbelieving but then again, she did know Damon and how ridiculous he could get over the smallest of details. "I'd almost hate to see him plan a party!" Ironic, perhaps, taking into consideration her own OCD tendencies when planning parties but hey, it's not exactly like she was wrong.

Ric snorted at that, draining the last of his coffee and getting up to pour himself some more. "He'd be staked by one of us within the day, I'm sure of it. He once argued with me for twenty minutes straight just because I was wearing mismatched socks! Twenty minutes!"

"Mate," Enzo said, giving him a sideways glance, "I'm pretty sure the important part of that story is why _didn't_ you wear proper socks in the first place and that you argued _back_ for a full twenty minutes." Ric looked rather sheepish at that and muttered something about terrible washing machines and laziness, much to the amusement of his companions

* * *

"You know, you've gotta consider stopping this 'destroying your room' thing. Its probably not gonna be able to take much more abuse at this rate," Ric said, pressing his back against the closed door of his best friend's room, two bottles in hand, one filled with blood, the other with alcohol. Seeing as how the situation would most likely end with a bit of both if the past was any indication, he had thought it couldn't hurt to come prepared. He figured it would be best if he dealt with Damon this time. Enzo hadn't been too happy about it at first but it wasn't as if Alaric cared much. Damon was his best friend in this hellhole of a town, dying hadn't changed that, he wouldn't allow it to.

He didn't bother raising his voice, he knew Damon could hear him, knew that he'd be listening even as he attempted to break almost every single object that still remained even somewhat intact in his room. Alaric rested his head against the wooden door, listening as the muffled crashing slowed down and feet shuffled against the floor, remaining silent as he felt the older vampire lean against his own side of the door and heard the soft whistle of air as he slowly slid down to sit on the floor.

"Better my room than whichever poor unfortunate soul that has the misfortune of stumbling upon me at the Grill," came his reply after a few moments of silence and Alaric breathed a silent sigh of relief, sitting down himself, legs stretched out in front of him as he sipped on the bottle filled with blood. "Wouldn't wanna upset Blondie after all that she's been put through."

"You have a point," Ric conceded, chuckling softly as he allowed a small smile to tug his lips upwards at the thought. "Pretty sure Caroline's version of the puppy eyes are a hell of a lot worse than your brother's."

"You have no idea. I've built up some resistance to the hero hair and eyes, still working on the same with her." The dark haired Salvatore was smiling ever so slightly at the thought of Caroline's gentle manipulations, Ric could hear it in his voice. "On the rare occasions they don't work, she teams up with Enzo which ends exactly how you'd expect it to."

"Speaking of whom, how'd Elena take it when _that_ happened? Because I'm guessing that there were explosions of the 'Not Fun' variety, especially added to the fact that she couldn't wait to leave once Caroline told us she'd called you back here." Don't get him wrong, Ric loved his pseudo niece, he simply wasn't under any illusion regarding the manner in which she treated her romantic interests.

Damon let out a surprised laugh at that as he recalled her less than stellar response, one the other vampire shared in when he told him about it. They sat like that, losing time easily as they spoke of nothing at all and yet everything important was understood even hidden as it was underneath words of little consequence. And when Damon finally opened the door to let him in, he walked in without any hesitation, passing Damon the now half-filled bottle of blood as he himself took a swig from the Bourbon. He took the time to look around the room, to take in the broken furniture and glass shards that colored the floor, small droplets of blood staining the wood and jagged pieces of glass at irregular intervals. Alaric took an extra few seconds to let his eyes linger on the broken pieces of wood, splinters from which he knew he would find embedded inside his friend's skin. He clapped Damon on the shoulder and it was as if all the time between them, between his death and this moment right here simply slipped away. "Let's get this place cleaned up."

* * *

It must have been around three in the morning when Damon came downstairs, finding Caroline busy typing away at her laptop, working on a university assignment that was due in a couple of days, taking small sips of coffee at irregular intervals. Sitting down beside her, it was a small matter to steal the mug which, he noticed with no shortage of amusement, was shaped in the form of a cat, and take a large sip of its contents. He grimaced as his senses were assaulted by the taste of coffee that had gone cold a long time ago. It took only a few moments to speed to the kitchen and brew another mug to the blond's specifications, sweetening it to her liking. No one would be having sub par coffee in his house, thank you very much. He was still mixing it slowly as he sped back outside, careful not to let any of the hot liquid spill over the sides as he curled up on the couch next to her and wordlessly handed her the mug. She was so focused on the laptop and notebook in front of her, twirling a pen in between two long, slender fingers, she didn't even register taking the mug from him and sipping from it, carding the fingers of her free hand through his hair when she put the mug down, typing away with the other.

The realisation only truly kicked in halfway through the second mug Damon made for her, breaking her focus as she looked down in confusion at the still warm mug, taking another sip, a small, almost imperceptible moan of pleasure falling from her lips as she realised it was made exactly how she liked it. She smiled against the warm ceramic, her fingers playing with strands of Damon's hair, the older vampire taking a moment to smile smugly up at her before returning to the book he had picked up sometime around the end of the first mug. She began bouncing ideas for her paper off of him by the third mug, giggling as he slipped in ideas for ridiculous puns and jokes. The paper was supposed to be a serious one, as most papers were, but they were so absurd, Caroline couldn't help herself from slipping a few into her paper here and there. She hoped her professor had a sense of humor.

It was sometime after she drained the remnants of what felt like it could have been the fifth mug pushed into her fingers, that she realised it had been hot chocolate instead of coffee that the one preceding it most likely had been hot chocolate too. She also realised that, judging by the fact that she felt she could most likely keep going for another couple hours, it had probably been spiked with blood. What _really_ stood out, however, was the fact that it hadn't been refilled and Damon hadn't interjected with some inane remark regarding either her paper or the book he was reading in a while. She looked down to where her hand was still idly playing with the older vampire's hair, smiling softly as she found him sleeping, snuggled into her side, book slowly slipping out of his fingers. Gently tugging the book away from him, she laid it on the table next to them and grabbed one of the many blankets she had tucked away near the couches for such situations, lightly throwing it over him, before returning to the paper she had spent a week on by this point. It was a little past five but hey, since when did a little thing like late nights bother college students? She just had a little bit left anyway.

* * *

Stefan found them a few hours later, Damon's arms encircling her waist, Caroline's fingers buried in his hair, her head resting on her arm as she slept, legs tucked underneath her, laptop still running, screen lit up by the screensaver. He gently extricated the laptop, smiling as he took in the screen saver constantly changing, random pictures of them all over the years they had known each other. Some of them were definitely pictures he recognized as having sent her, others he didn't even know existed. He set it down on the table after a few moments though, moving to the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee and get started on breakfast. He was quite certain that within half an hour most of the house's occupants would follow the smell of coffee to the kitchen and, well, it certainly didn't hurt to be prepared.

Bonnie stumbled into the kitchen only ten later, making a beeline to the coffee pot as expected, chugging down an entire mug within a few minutes and pouring herself another before sitting down at the table, still slightly disoriented and glancing back at the door confused. Stefan guessed she had passed Damon and Caroline and was probably in the process of convincing herself it was a bizarre dream. "Long night?" He asked, understandingly as he put a plate of pancakes in front of her.

"I _literally_ have _no_ idea beyond the fact that I just crashed. Did I really see that outside?" Came the confused reply as she dug into her pancakes, leaving the vampire to grin and answer in the affirmative. "Stefan?"

"Mmhmm?" He glanced up from the stove where he was putting together another stack of pancakes for Enzo who would be joining them soon if the muffled curses and thuds coming from upstairs were any indication. As much as the other vampire complained about mornings, it never failed to amuse Stefan how early he would still wake up.

"If you keep cooking like this, I'm gonna have to keep you." Bonnie proclaimed.

"Sorry BonBon," Enzo said as he walked into the kitchen and, like Bonnie before him, made straight for the coffee. "Damon and I already called dibs on Steffy. He's the only one I trust in the morning seeing as how when it comes to breakfast, he's an actual saint. Case in point," he said with a flourish and a grin as Stefan slid a plate piled high with pancakes towards him, ignoring Bonnie's pout. Well, he grinned for all of thirty seconds before grimacing and massaging his forehead muttering about how it was far too early to be so cheerful. Bonnie for one, looked entirely too cheerful at the change in his mood. Besides, she had already begun plotting ways to kidnap Stefan and take him back to college with her.


End file.
